What causes autism? Is it a genetic disorder, or due to some unknown
environmental hazard? Are we facing an autism epidemic? What are the
main symptoms, and how does it relate to Asperger syndrome? Everyone has
heard of autism, but the disorder itself is little understood. It has
captured the public imagination through films and novels portraying
individuals with baffling combinations of disability and extraordinary
talent, and yet the reality is that it often places a heavy burden on
sufferers and their families. This Very Short Introduction offers a
clear statement on what is currently known about autism and Asperger
syndrome. Explaining the vast array of different conditions that hide
behind these two labels, and looking at symptoms from the full spectrum
of autistic disorders, it explores the possible causes for the apparent
rise in autism and also evaluates the links with neuroscience,
psychology, brain development, genetics, and environmental causes
including MMR and
Thimerosal. This VSI also explores the psychology behind social
impairment and savantism, and sheds light on what it is like to live
inside the mind of the sufferer.
About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and
style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of
life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer,
they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central
problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud,
quantum theory to Islam.
