Development 1

Autism: new inquiries on classical ground

Traditional conceptualizations of autism might endorse it as a good candidate for “pure” psychopathological categories. This special issue will try to challenge such a view, by offering an update on recent answers, but also by raising many questions for the future study of autism. Such an approach is essential because an optimal “intervention kit” cannot be perfected as long as we don’t know for sure what autism is. This means to clarify the phenomenal aspects as well as the hidden nature of autism. Still, new findings might seem opaque to many professionals, as long as they rely on a traditional view of autism, which might obstruct reality. The costs of such a perspective, however, are to be discovered in the limited efficacy of the interventions in use. We propose there are several assumptions supporting a distorted view of autism, assumptions currently questioned by research and practice, as it will be shown by the papers of this special issue: 1) Autism is a homogenous disorder; 2) The core deficits underlying autistic pathology are clearly defined; 3) The age of onset for autistic pathology is around 36 months; 4) Autism has a clear etiology; 5) Autistic development parallels normal development; 6) Persons with autism are “invisible” as adults.