title: [Evolution of the concept of autism].
abstract: Since it was originally described in 1943 by L. Kanner, the concept of autism has changed. Autistic disorder is now recognized as a pervasive developmental disorder diagnosed on the basis of three behaviorally altered domains: social deficits, impaired language and communication, and stereotyped and repetitive behaviors. The prevalence of the autistic disorder according to these criteria has raised to about 0.3%, and the prevalence of the pervasive developmental disorders is estimated between 0.3 and 0.6%. Autism is now considered as an heterogeneous neurodevelopmental syndrome, with genetic and environmental factors contribution.
authors.affiliation: Service de psychiatrie de l'enfant et de l'adolescent, hôpital Necker-Enfants malades, AP-HP, 75015 Paris. laurence.robel@nck.aphp.fr
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Robel
mesh_terms: D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D002648:Child; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D006801:Humans; D038801:International Classification of Diseases; D015995:Prevalence