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Infantile autism: A total population study of reduced optimality in the pre-, peri-, and neonatal period

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Abstract

Twenty-five autistic children, constituting a total population sample of children with infantile autism, were compared with 25 sex- and maternityclinic-matched controls for occurrence of reduced optimality in the pre-, peri-, and neonatal period, as noted in medical records. Autistic children showed greatly increased scores for reduced optimality, especially with regard to prenatal factors. The findings are at odds with early reports that children with autism had not suffered potential brain injury. The reasons for the discrepancy are discussed.

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Reference notes

  1. Kyllerman, M. Non-optimal pre- and perinatal conditions in dyskinetic cerebral palsy. Distribution and comparison to controls.Neuropediatrics, 1982, submitted for publication.

  2. Kyllerman, M., & Hagberg, G. Non-optimal pre- and perinatal conditions in a Swedish newborn population.Neuropediatrics, 1982, submitted for publication.

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We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Mrs. Doris Andrén in the collecting of the pertinent data, and Mrs. Gun Jakobsson for skillful secretarial assistance. This work was financially supported by a grant from the Swedish Save the Children Fund (Rädda Barnens Riksförbund).

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Gillberg, C., Gillberg, I.C. Infantile autism: A total population study of reduced optimality in the pre-, peri-, and neonatal period. J Autism Dev Disord 13, 153–166 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01531816

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