Handbook of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders

The first major handbook on autism and related developmental disorders, presenting chapters written by leading contributors to the field with national and international reputations. It brings together the major lines of research findings from several related disciplines, descriptive and diagnostic characteristics, intervention methods and legal and social issues. The syndrome is looked at from several perspectives - psychological, biological, neurophysiological, pharmacological and biochemical. A separate section deals with issues of educating the autistic individual, including academic training, social skills, language and vocational skills. The final section, called "Perspectives," includes chapters by eminent scholars outside the field of autism research who provide their unique points of view on topics raised in the preceding sections.