Attempt were made to evaluate changes of speech and quality and content of play in 18 autistic children aged 4.4 to 10.10 years for periods of time varying six months to six years and two months. As a result, these autistic children were classified into the following three groups. In group A, they could speak nothing or only a few fragmentary words while playing around with objects whose purposes were totally neglected, or just a simple constructive play. In group B, they could play a symbolic play, taking substantial functions of objects into account and speak two succesive words, greeting words and interrogatives. Their speech showed an increasing number of words. In group C, they were interested in a purposeful play and responded to a subject work. Their speech also showed an increasing number of words. These groups corresponded to mental subnormality, organic disorder, and early infantile autism, respectively. They differed also regarding affective contact in personal relationship. In group A, basic cognition of a person was absent and children could respond to a brief momentary contact, but could not keep up with a continuous one. In group B, they came in contact with mother in various ways and showed shyness to a certain person. In group C, they contacted to people indiscriminately and a difference in personal relationship was not always clear, although their cognition was accurate. Their emotional reaction was very weak.
It is suggested on the basis of the above described findings that the children in group A should be educated as possible as we can, under a directive outline which will gradually be narrowed. In group B, they should at first be approached acceptably like neurotic children, and then treated by directive methods. Pharmacotherapy is used in both group A and B. In group C, they should be approached individually in order to detect their own interest, which then leads to multidimensional approaches to children by more than one therapists.
It is proposed that the therapeutic methods should be evaluated at any time regarding nosological prediction after a certain period of time for observation, although many still disagree as to the concept of autism in children.
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