Computed tomographic study of children with classic autism
M. R. Prior, B. Tress, W. L. Hoffman and D. Boldt
Computed tomographic (CT) scans were obtained for nine autistic boys aged
between 9 and 16 years. All were considered to have classic childhood
autism of unequivocal diagnosis, with symptoms present from infancy, and
were functioning in the borderline or normal level of intelligence. They
had performed poorly on tests purported to measure left hemispheric
functions. There was no sign of abnormality of any kind on the CT scans or
any asymmetry that might be related to lateralized cognitive functions. It
is suggested that earlier reported abnormalities are a function of the
inclusion of patients with a heterogeneous collection of disorders in the
tested sample.
