This booklet is designed to help people understand and interact better with people with autism, through descriptions and suggestions for dealing with 33 autistic behaviors. First, the booklet provides a simple list, or index, of the 33 behaviors. Then, for each behavior, the typical "common response" (but not helpful) response is given, along with…

This paper offers guidelines to compare the characteristics observed in children with autism and blindness and those observed in children with blindness alone. It distinguishes between stereotypic behaviors (blindisms) in blind individuals and similar stereotypic behaviors of children with autism. A table presents typical behavior patterns of…

The booklet provides background information on the diagnosis and characteristics of autism. A chart portrays the signs and symptoms, followed by the definition of the syndrome by the National Society For Children and Adults with Autism. Associated features are noted along with information on age of onset, etiology, incidence and sex ratio,…

Twelve papers focus on issues involving severe behavior disorders in the schools and autism. The following papers are included: "Behavioral Ecology--A Unifying Strategy for the '80s" (F. Hewett); "Academic Skill Development--The Promise of Modeling Strategies" (R. Gable, J. Hendrickson); "Future Directions in Self-Control Research" (R. Rueda);…

The use of an observational assessment instrument designed for autistic children is described. The Behavior Rating Instrument for Autistic and other Atypical Children (BRIAAC) measures behavior in eight developmental areas: relationship to an adult, communication, drive for mastery, vocalization and expressive speech, sound and speech reception,…

The monograph on severe behavior disorders of children and youth presents 23 papers on juvenile delinquency, behavior disorders at the secondary level, and self control instruction. Some of the papers included are: "A Comparison of Varied Teacher-to-Child Ratio on the Adaptive and Attending Behaviors of Two Autistic Children" (M. Zener,…

This book is intended as an eclectic review and overview of what is known about autism, emphasizing clinical, rather than theoretical, aspects of the syndrome. Eleven chapters address the following topics: (1) definition of autism (myths, definitions, and facts about autism); (2) diagnosis of autism (medical versus educational diagnosis); (3)…