New research findings provide major challenges regarding our understanding of the concept of autism. These are critically discussed in relation to research relevant to classification, genetics, environmental risk factors, gene-environment interplay, animal models, biomarkers, clinical features, neuropathology, pharmacotherapy, behavioral…

Three levels of investigation underlie all biologically based attempts at classification of behaviorally defined developmental and psychiatric disorders: Level A, pseudo-categorical classification of mostly dimensional descriptions of behaviors and their disorders included in the 2013 American Psychiatric Association's Fifth Edition of the…

Reviews salient emerging themes in the scientific literature related to identifying etiology and pathophysiology of ADHD. While bypassing the need for new treatment research, the review highlights three themes. First, recognition of the epigenetic effects is expected to revitalize the search for and mapping of early environmental influences on the…

Epidemiology uses strong sampling methods and study designs to test refutable hypotheses regarding the causes of important health, mental health, and social outcomes. Epidemiologic methods are increasingly being used to move developmental psychopathology from studies that catalogue correlates of child and adolescent mental health to designs that…

This report describes three extensions to a classification system for paediatric speech sound disorders termed the Speech Disorders Classification System (SDCS). Part I describes a classification extension to the SDCS to differentiate motor speech disorders from speech delay and to differentiate among three sub-types of motor speech disorders.…

Dyslexia may represent the first example of a LD whereby a possible pathway may link the observed behavior to an underlying neurological substrate that has a neurodevelopmental history beginning with an abnormal gene. Similar efforts are being made to link other cognitive disorders of development to a molecular pathway involved in brain…

The role of child psychiatry is discussed, and the child is described as a developing organism. Genetic factors in behavior are considered as are the presenting problems. Methods treated involve taking the history, conducting the diagnostic interview, using special diagnostic procedures, and applying diagnostic classification. Problem areas dealt…