Differences in the structure of social behaviour of autistic children and non-autistic retarded controls.
Social and task-oriented behaviours of autistic children were compared to those of individually age- and IQ-matched non-autistic retarded controls. Autistic children showed deficits in visual reciprocity, in indicating joint attention and referential head gestures, and in the integration of gaze and gestures when reacting to tasks. The findings confirmed the notion of social and pragmatic communicative deficits in autism. The implications of these findings for theories of social behaviour in autism (avoidance, facial perception, theory of mind) are discussed.
Buitelaar
J K
JK
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Utrecht University Hospital, The Netherlands.
van Engeland
H
H
de Kogel
K H
KH
de Vries
H
H
van Hooff
J A
JA
D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005403:Fixation, Ocular; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D009633:Nonverbal Communication; D010988:Play and Playthings; D012919:Social Behavior; D012931:Social Environment; D014705:Verbal Behavior