This volume aims to provide the reader with an up-to-date account of knowledge, research, education, and clinical practice in the field of au tism, from an international perspective. The emphasis throughout is on the growing points of knowledge and on the new developments in prac tice. We have tried to keep a balance between the need for rigorous research and systematic evaluation and the importance of expressing new ideas and concepts so that they may influence thinking at a stage when questions are being formulated and fresh approaches to treatment are being developed. The book had its origins in the 1976 International Symposium on Autism held in St. Gallen, Switzerland but it is not in any sense a proceed ings of that meeting. Most papers have been extensively rewritten to provide a fuller coverage of the topic and also to take account of the issues raised at the meeting. Discussion dialogues have been revised and re structured to stand as self-contained chapters. Many significant contribu tions to the conference have not been induded in order to maintain the balance of a definitive review; however a few extra chapters have been added to fill crucial gaps 0 We hope the result is a vivid picture ofthe current state of the art. As editors we have been most impressed by the advances since the 1970 international conference in London.

This electronic version has been made available under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) open access license. This book is available as an open access ebook under a CC-BY-NC-ND licence. What is autism and where has it come from? Increased diagnostic rates, the rise of the 'neurodiversity' movement, and growing autism journalism, have recently fuelled autism's fame and controversy. The metamorphosis of autism is the first book to explain our current fascination with autism by linking it to a longer history of childhood development. Drawing from a staggering array of primary sources, Bonnie Evans traces autism back to its origins in the early twentieth century and explains why the idea of autism has always been controversial and why it experienced a 'metamorphosis' in the 1960s and 1970s. Evans takes the reader on a journey of discovery from the ill-managed wards of 'mental deficiency' hospitals, to high-powered debates in the houses of parliament, and beyond. The book will appeal to a wide market of scholars and others interested in autism.

Division TEACCH, located in the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was one of the first programs in the country to understand that autism was an organic rather than a biologic condition. We were also one of the earliest programs to recognize the enormous variability in characteristics and behaviors of children described as autistic. For these reasons, the processes of diagnosis and assessment have always been important and central to our program. We are therefore extremely pleased to have a volume representing the most current thinking of the field's leaders in these important areas. As with the preceding books in our series, Current Issues in Autism, this volume is based on one of the annual TEACCH conferences held in Chapel Hill each May. The books are not simply published proceedings of the conference papers, however. Rather, conference participants are asked to develop a full chapter around their presentations. Other international experts whose work is beyond the scope of the conference, but related to the major theme, are asked to contribute chapters as well. These volumes are designed to provide the most current knowledge in research and professional practice available on the most important issues defining and clarifying autism.

The state of North Carolina has had a longstanding concern and com mitment to the understanding and treatment of autistic, communications handicapped children and their families. This commitment found expres sion in the only comprehensive statewide program for families confronted with this disability, Division for the Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication handicapped CHildren (Division TEACCH). Our program staff has been privileged to respond to this commitment by developing and providing the needed services, and to engage in research informed by our clinical experience. Although many of the problems con cerning these developmentally disabled children remain to be solved, substantial progress has been made during this past decade of collabo ration among professionals, parents, and their government representa tives. The TEACCH staff has resolved to mark the effectiveness of this collaboration by holding a series of annual conferences focused on the several major issues confronting these children and their families. The conferences are held in order to bring together the best research knowl edge available to us from throughout the country, and to encourage par ticipation by the different professional disciplines and concerned parents. In addition these annual meetings form the basis for a series of books based on the conference theme. These books are, however, not merely the published proceedings of the presented papers: some chapters are expanded from conference presentations and many others were solicited from experts in the related areas of research and their service application.

Issues in the Developmental Approach to Mental Retardation is one of the first books exclusively devoted to applying the theories, findings and approaches used in work with nonretarded children to several types of retarded individuals. The editors and contributors define the developmental approach and explore theoretical issues as they relate to retarded populations. Problems involving similar sequences of development, cross-domain relations, the environment, and motivation are all discussed, as is the importance of separating the various etiological groups for research and intervention purposes. The contributors also examine the nature of development in specific etiological groups; types of retardation that are addressed include: cultural-familial retardation, Down syndrome, fragile X syndrome, autism, and children with sensory and motor handicaps. This significant volume demonstrates how data from nonretarded development can inform work with retarded populations and how findings from children with mental retardation enrich developmental theory.