A Developmental Approach to Autism

Abstract

(from the chapter) Autism is best known for presenting a dissociation between social and cognitive functioning, with social abilities being more impaired than cognitive ones. Recent research has begun to reveal that autism is also characterized by many other more specific dissociations in functioning. One way that these dissociations are brought into sharper relief is through the application of a developmental perspective. This involves considering how different abilities are related to each other at different points in development both in autistic and in typically developing individuals. By applying this approach, researchers have uncovered finer level dissociations in functioning that offer both a clearer picture of autism and intriguing clues into the nature of normal development. This chapter emphasizes the functional dissociations in autism that are apparent from a developmental perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved).