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A Twin Study of Individuals with Infantile Autism

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Autism

Abstract

In his original description of the syndrome of infantile autism, Kanner (1943) noted that the condition was distinctive in that in most cases the children’s behavior had appeared abnormal right from early infancy. He suggested the presence of an inborn defect of presumably constitutional origin. Since then there have been numerous hypotheses concerning the possible nature and origins of this defect (see Ornitz, 1973; Rutter, 1974). However, in spite of the supposition that the disorder is inborn there have been surprisingly few attempts to investigate possible genetic influences (see Rutter, 1967; Hanson & Gottesman, 1976).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Child Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Susan Folstein

  2. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, SE5 8AF, Denmark Hill, London, England

    Michael Rutter

Authors
  1. Susan Folstein
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  2. Michael Rutter
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, University of London, London, England

    Michael Rutter

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Division of Health Affairs, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

    Eric Schopler

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© 1978 Plenum Press, New York

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Folstein, S., Rutter, M. (1978). A Twin Study of Individuals with Infantile Autism. In: Rutter, M., Schopler, E. (eds) Autism. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-0787-7_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-0787-7_15

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-0789-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-0787-7

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