Two studies, 1 longitudinal with 29 subjects and 1 cross-sectional with 132 subjects, examined the adaptive trajectories and profiles of males with mental retardation caused by fragile X syndrome. Significant age-related gains were found in boys ages 1-10 but subjects ages 11-20 showed nonsignificant relations between age and adaptive skills. (DB)

Criteria to differentiate speaking from nonspeaking autistic preschool children were examined with 10 nonspeaking and 10 speaking children who were followed from age four-and-a-half to late childhood. Total developmental quotient; subscale scores of intellectual, selfcare, and motor ability; and several speech production factors distinguished…

This paper reports a clinical case of autism with a deletion on chromosome 2 in a young male with high functioning autism. The deletion seems to correspond with regions emerging from linkage studies. The paper proposes this chromosomal region as a possible candidate region in the search for autism genes. (Contains references.) (Author/DB)

The follow-up study reports data from a population-based series of 23 Swedish children diagnosed in childhood as suffering from infantile autism and other childhood psychoses and followed through to the ages of 16-23 years. Intelligence quotient at diagnosis and communicative speech development before six years were the most important prognostic…

This case study describes a 12-year-old boy with autism in association with the folate-sensitive fragile site fra(2)(q13). Cytogenetic results of blood analysis are described, and two possibilities are discussed: the fragile site may be a coincidental finding unrelated to the autism, or may represent an area of potential gene damage. (JDD)

This article presents a case report of a male child with Fragile X syndrome, typical autistic behavior, and cerebellar hypoplasia. Questions are raised concerning the possible role and importance of cerebellar abnormalities in relation to autistic symptoms. (DB)

A case study is presented of a boy with partial tetrasomy 15, severe mental retardation, and autism, from age 6 to 9. The case is analyzed in relation to other cases with an extra marker chromosome 15 and the mechanisms that underlie the association between autism and marker chromosome 15. (JDD)

The follow-up study examined 16 schizo-affective children after a mean of 16 years. In comparison to purely schizophrenic controls, subjects showed an increased incidence of affective psychoses, suicide in the ancestry, and more pre-morbidly well-adjusted personalities. The schizo-affective psychoses had mainly an acute-recurrent character.…

This paper presents two case studies of children who developed herpes virus infection in the intrauterine or early postnatal period and presented with features of autism around two years of age. Other research suggesting a link between herpes and autism is reviewed. (DB)

This article presents a case study of a Japanese adolescent with autism who strongly perceived inanimate things (Kanji characters) as real persons. Physiognomic perception is investigated as a characteristic mode of autism, and its effects are discussed. It is concluded that the poor cognitive-language ability of some autistic people may shape…

The follow-up study of 16 nonretarded autistic children as adults found that, though most were functioning poorly in terms of occupational-social outcome and psychiatric symptoms, four had essentially recovered. Severity of early autistic behavior was a poor predictor of outcome, but neuropsychologic measures of nonverbal problem solving were…

A Chinese mentally retarded calendar savant (age 19) was evaluated for his exceptional proficiency in calendar calculation including converting the Gregorian calendar to the Chinese calendar. Results did not support hypotheses of use of eidetic imagery, high speed calculation, rote memorization, or keying-off (anchoring) strategies. (Author/DB)

Comparison of children and adolescents with Fragile X Syndrome (n=18) or autism (n=18) for changes in cognitive ability and adaptive behavior over 9 years found steeper decreases in IQ scores among Fragile X subjects with older autistic subjects autism exhibiting stable test-retest scores. Comparative declines in adaptive behavior scores were…

This case study illustrates the highly significant language difficulties, marked memory deficits, and propensity for physical aggression following temporal lobe damage brought about by herpes encephalitis, and presents the usefulness of a new diagnostic measure in delineating such a variable cognitive pattern. (Author)

This case study of two young males (ages 3 and 5) with autism who have preoccupations with feminine activities and objects addresses the establishment of gender identity in children with autism and the need for further study of the complex interplay of environmental and neurobiologic factors affecting gender identity and preoccupations in autism.…