CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -Psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen and his colleagues at Cambridge’s Autism Research Centre have created the Autism-Spectrum Quotient, or AQ, as a measure of the extent of autistic traits in adults. In the first major trial using the test, the average score in the control group was 16.4.

Detailed explanation-2: -The pioneers in research into autism were Hans Asperger and Leo Kanner. They were working separately in the 1940’s. Asperger described very able children while Kanner described children who were severely affected. Their views remained useful for physicians for the next three decades.

Detailed explanation-3: -The first time the term “autism” appeared in the Indian literature was in 1959, and a half-dozen publications appeared through the 1960s. Beyond that there was limited knowledge about autism in the medical community. In the late 1970s there were a few centres in India that were diagnosing children with autism.

Detailed explanation-4: -There are no medical or genetic tests that can detect autism. These can only rule out other conditions. Autism may occur alongside conditions such as mental retardation and hyperactivity, but the autistic traits in the person are typically what require attention.