Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T13:29:16.607Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Autism and Autistic-like Conditions in Swedish Rural and Urban Areas: a Population Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Suzanne Steffenburg  and
Christopher Gillberg
Suzanne Steffenburg
Affiliation:
BUP-kliniken, University of Göteborg, Box 7284, S-402 35 Göteborg, Sweden
Christopher Gillberg*
Affiliation:
BUP-kliniken, University of Göteborg, Box 7284, S-402 35 Göteborg, Sweden
*
∗Correspondence
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The total population of children under 10 years in one Swedish urban area and one rural area was screened for infantile autism (IA) and autistic-like conditions (AC). A total prevalence of 6.6 per 10 000 was found, which is somewhat higher than in previous similar studies of the same region. Infantile autism accounted for two-thirds of the cases. Boys far outnumbered girls, but this was entirely accounted for by the IA group. The preponderance of autistic boys was less pronounced among the severely mentally retarded children. Mental retardation was seen in almost 90% of cases and only one child had an IQ exceeding 100; clinical and laboratory signs of brain dysfunction were also found in a majority of cases. Distribution by social class was no different in either patient group from the general population.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 149 , Issue 1 , July 1986 , pp. 81 - 87
Copyright
Copyright © 1986 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association (1980) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd ed. Washington DC: APA.Google Scholar
Bohman, M., Bohman, I. L., Björck, P. O., Sjöholm, E. (1983) Childhood psychosis in a northern Swedish county: some preliminary findings from an epidemiological survey In Epidemiological Approaches in Child Psychiatry, (eds Smidt, M. H. & Remsmidt, H.). Vol. 2. Stuttgart: Georg Times Verlag.Google Scholar
Coleman, M. & Gillberg, C. (1985) The Biology of the Autistic Syndromes. New York: Praeger.Google Scholar
Gillberg, C. (1983a) Perceptual, motor and attentional deficits in Swedish primary-school children. Some child psychiatric aspects. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 24, 377–403.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gillberg, C. (1983b) Psychotic behaviour in children and young adults in a mental handicap hostel. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 68, 351–358.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gillberg, C. (1984) Infantile autism and other childhood psychoses in a Swedish urban region. Epidemiological aspects. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 25, 35–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gillberg, C. (1985) Current neuropsychiatric child research in Gothenburg. Sweden In Proceedings of the WHO Conference on Child Mental Health (Copenhagen, Denmark.) Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
Gillberg, C. & Schaumann, H. (1982) Social class and infantile autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 12, 223–228.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gillberg, C. Persson, E., Grufman, M. & Themnér, U. (1986) Psychiatric disorders in mildly and severely mentally retarded urban children and adolescents. Epidemiological aspects. British Journal of Psychiatry (in press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Griffiths, R. (1970) The Abilities of Young Children. London: Child Research Centre.Google Scholar
Kanner, L. (1943) Autistic disturbances of affective contact. Nervous Child, 2, 217–250.Google Scholar
Kanner, L. & Eisenberg, L. (1956) Early infantile autism: 1943–1955. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 26, 55–65.Google Scholar
Krug, D. A., Arick, J. & Almond, P. (1980) Autism Behavior Checklist for identifying severely handicapped individuals with high levels of autistic behavior. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 21, 221–229.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lotter, V. (1966) Epidemiology of autistic conditions in young children. I: Prevalence. Social Psychiatry, 1, 124–137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Magne, O. & Wahlberg, G. (1961) Vineland Social Maturity Scale (Revised Swedish Version). Hägersten: Psykologiförlaget.Google Scholar
Rutter, M. (1975) Why are London children so disturbed? Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine, 66, 1221–1225.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rutter, M. (1978) Diagnosis and definition In Autism: A Reappraisal of Concepts and Treatment (eds Rutter, M. & Schopler, E.). New York: Plenum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rutter, M. Graham, P. & Yule, W. (1970) A Neuropsychiatrie Study in Childhood (Clinics in Developmental Medicine, No. 35/36). London: Heinemann Medical.Google Scholar
Wing, L. (1980) Childhood autism and social class: a question of selection. British Journal of Psychiatry, 137, 410–417.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wing, L. (1981) Sex ratios in early childhood autism and related conditions. Psychiatry Research, 5, 129–137.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wing, L. & Gould, J. (1979) Severe impairments of social interaction and associated abnormalities in children: Epidemiology and classification. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 9, 11–29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.