Autism research: prospects and priorities

Abstract

Research prospects and priorities in the field of autism are discussed with respect to (a) diagnosis, classification, and epidemiology; (b) clinical research; (c) neuropsychological research; (d) genetics; (e) structural and functional brain imaging; (f) postmortem studies; (g) other biological research; and (h) treatment research. Also, it is argued that research into autism has a priority in the broader field of developmental psychopathology because it carries the promise of throwing light on casual mechanisms that apply beyond the syndrome of autism.