Over the past 50 years there has been a virtual revolution in thinking about risk mechanisms. The key areas of challenge and opportunity include: identification of environmental causes; use of natural experiments; gene-environment interaction; testing for mediation; developmental moderation; biological programming; and developmental perturbations.

The author reviews the history of the definition of autism, cites confusion over varying sets of diagnostic criteria, and reviews research on proposed behavioral grouping. (CL)

Discusses handicaps associated with autism and goals, strategies, and principles of treatment, emphasizing promotion of normal development, reduction of rigidity/stereotypy, elimination of non-specific maladaptive behaviors, alleviation of family distress, and the overall treatment program and its evaluation. Lessons to be learned from research…

Background: Influential studies have cast doubt on the validity of retrospective reports by adults of their own adverse experiences in childhood. Accordingly, many researchers view retrospective reports with scepticism. Method: A computer-based search, supplemented by hand searches, was used to identify studies reported between 1980 and 2001 in…