title: Early behavioral development in autistic children: the first 2 years of life through home movies.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The main aim of the research is to study the early behavioral development in autistic children through home movies.
  
  
  METHODS
  fifteen home movies, regarding the first 2 years of life of autistic children are compared with the home movies of 15 normal children. The films of the two groups were mixed and rated by blind ratings with the Grid for the Assessment of Normal Behavior in Infants and Toddlers. The grid is composed of 17 items grouped into three developmental areas: social competence, intersubjectivity and symbolic activity. For every area, we have identified specific children's behaviors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant differences between the two groups are found both in the range of age 0-6 for intersubjectivity, and in the ranges of age 6-12 and 18-24 for symbolic activity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The authors pose some hypotheses about an early-appearing impairment of intersubjectivity, the ability to represent other's state of mind, in subjects with autistic disorder.
authors.affiliation: Scientific Institute Stella Maris, Division of Child Neuropsychiatry, University of Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maestro
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Muratori
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Barbieri
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Casella
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cattaneo
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Cavallaro
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cesari
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Milone
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rizzo
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Viglione
authors.forename: D D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Stern
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Palacio-Espasa
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014743:Videotape Recording