No studies to date have prospectively examined early autism spectrum disorder (ASD) markers in infants with fragile X syndrome (FXS), who are at elevated risk for ASD. This paper describes the developmental profiles of eight infants with FXS from 9 to 24 months of age. Four meet diagnostic criteria for ASD at 24 months of age, and four do not.…

The Study to Explore Early Development (SEED) is a multi-site case-control study designed to explore the relationship between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) phenotypes and etiologies. The goals of this paper are to (1) describe the SEED algorithm that uses the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule…

Restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs) are characteristic of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, compared to social and communicative impairments, less is known about their development, trajectory and etiology. This study explored RRBs in young children with ASD matched to typically developing (TD) children on non-verbal development.…

A cross-sectional analysis was used to examine age-related differences in ASD symptoms and corresponding differences in disruptive behavior and social skills in 281 adult men with fragile X syndrome. Four age groups were created: 18-21, 22-29, 30-39, and 40-49 years. The 18-21 year-old group was reported to have more impairments in verbal…

This paper highlights clinical challenges faced when diagnosing and then treating an individual presenting to a child and adolescent psychiatry clinic because of unwelcome comments he made to female peers about their feet. Novel use of exposure therapy helped him effectively decrease his comments from 1 to 2 times per month to once every 6 months.…

Parents of 125 children, adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorders completed a newly developed questionnaire aimed at identifying cognitive and behavioural characteristics associated with savant skills in this group. Factors distinguishing skilled individuals were then further investigated in case studies of three individuals…

The article presents a case history of a boy with both infantile autism and histidenia (an inborn error of amino acid metabolism), and discusses the possible relationship between the two conditions. (DLS)

The developmental history of a 14-year-old male with Klinefelter's Syndrome (XXXXY) is described. The boy's physical development was consistent with many patterns described in the XXXXY literature, although his retardation was not as severe as expected from the literature. (Author/DB)

The first case study of identical male twins concordant for DSM-IV Asperger's disorder (ASD) was presented. Their monozygocity was confirmed by short tandem repeat analyses with a probability of 99.999963%. Despite sharing the same DNA and environment, the twins are different in comorbidity (i.e., major depressive disorder in the elder and absence…

Three cases are presented to illustrate the use of on-the-job training procedures to manage behavior problems of adults with autism. In two cases aggressive and oppositional behavior were eliminated or reduced in frequency, and in a third, production rate was increased. (Author/CL)

Ten profoundly retarded subjects are described as examples of the need for cooperative efforts between medical and psychological services since medical conditions, acute and chronic, can set the occasion for maladaptive behavior that might come first to the attention of a psychologist. (Author/DB)

This report presents three case reports of male children who meet criteria for autism and also Aarskog syndrome, a genetic disorder characterized by hypertelorism, short nose, long philtrum, short stature, brachydactyly, and shawl scrotum. Two of the children also presented with severe mental retardation. (DB)

Dextromethorphan is the d-isomer of levorphenol, and an ingredient in antitussive preparations. A 10 year-old male diagnosed with Autistic Disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder was administered this medication initially to treat a medical condition. This became a quasi-experimental ABAB design (A = baseline,…

Explores the problems of definition of sexual behaviors in individuals with autism and describes a case that highlights the difficulties of management. After failure of behavioral and educational programs, a testosterone-suppressing medication was used resulting in suppression of public masturbation behaviors and retention of the participant's…

The study examined cognitive and emotional aspects of development in four infants treated from 10 to 52 months in a reverse isolation environment because of congenital severe combined immunodeficiency disease. Case material is discussed with reference to severe disruption of oral feeding experience, quality of parental involvement, and sensory…