Understanding Autism

by Scientific American, Jeanene Swanson (Introduction), Coleen Marlo (Reading)

The term “autism” first appeared in the early 1900s and comes from the Greek word “autos,” meaning self, used to describe conditions of social withdrawal – or the isolated self. Today, autism is one of three diagnoses that the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) includes in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). While our understanding of this condition has grown exponentially, research has been fraught with controversy. Autism appears to be on the rise, depending on how you define it, and its causes more complex than imagined. In this eBook, Understanding The Search for Answers, Scientific American’s editors have gathered the most current information on autism, including how it’s diagnosed, risk factors, treatments and therapies. Section 1 begins with the symptoms, or traits, of ASD, which include three main lack of social skills, lack of communication skills, and repetitive behaviors. Also in this section, “The Hidden Potential of Autistic Kids” discusses the flip side of the equation – instead of focusing on the condition’s limitations, what unique capabilities might people possess – a thread that continues in the remarkable stories of Section 2, “Autistic Savants. Subsequent sections examine the complicated genetic and environmental causes, the nature of the autism “epidemic” as well as the most current therapies. Changes to the diagnostic criteria in the DSM-5 caused understandable concern and are reviewed in two important stories by Ferris Jabr. Finally, in discussing available therapies, two companion pieces by Nancy Shute take us on a journey through the minds of parents, many of whom are desperate to help their autistic kids lead easier, productive and more fulfilling lives. While science rushes to offer better options, this eBook gives a synopsis of the state of the union - what we know and what we don’t know about this challenging condition.

1 pages, Audio CD

First published March 18, 2013

About the author

Scientific American , as an institutional author, is a popular science magazine founded by Rufus M. Porter and controlled by Nature Publishing Group since autumn, 2008. Mariette DiChristina has been editor-in-chief since December, 2009.

Reviews

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of different articles about autism, exploring the potential connections to causes, environmental factors, genetic elements, the links to other character traits such as more likely born into a family with an engineer and technical minded people. Very interesting, but also repetitive I found, when many of the articles are talking about the same thing, eg the diagnostic criteria and how that has and will impact on how many get diagnosed. Still, further confirmation that vaccines could not and don't have anything to do with autism.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook which was released in 2021. I don’t think it had been updated with new information since the publication date in 2013. Still, this book was informative and I learned a great deal about autism research.

[Ayke · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had expected much more of this book. If you know a lot about about autism and just want an update on the research around 2010-2012, this is the perfect book. If you want a good book about autism, you better look elsewhere.

Essentially, it looks like it's just a large collection of edited scientific articles. While valuable and giving large insight in the condition, it still is a collection of articles. It does not read like a unified book. And it certainly doesn't give much background, just the new findings.

This book does contain a lot valuable information, however, up to around 2012. And reading it all it does give some background and some insight, but only as a side effect of writing about some in-depth topic of some new finding in autism research.