Autism: Specific Problems of Adolescence

Abstract

Taylor (1977), among others, has proposed that in spite of the seemingly excellent compensatory mechanisms of the central nervous system, clinical neuropsychiatric development may be compromised in the long run by brain damage occurring in the fetal or perinatal period. Regression or stagnation in the development of skills could occur years later when, for one or other reason, demands for accelerating development are made. Such demands are made, for instance, around the time of physical puberty. Puberty, of course, also marks the onset of major neurochemical changes, which could affect abnormal brain functions negatively. Other, as yet unidentified factors around the time of puberty could enter into the picture also. For all these reasons, the adolescent period in autism should be of particular interest from both the research and clinical points of view.