Measures of the Occipital Alpha Rhythm in Normal, Subnormal and Autistic Children

Abstract

Clinical observation as well as experimental results have indicated abnormalities in the responses to sensory stimulation in autistic children. Observers have noted occasional over-responsiveness in the absence of any obvious sensory defect, though more frequently under-responsiveness to visual or painful and particularly to sound stimulation is reported. Thus, Goldfarb (1961) observed the frequent absence of startle responses to sound in autistic children, and Anthony (1958a) and Rutter (1967) also noted a lack of reaction to auditory stimuli. Hermelin and O'Connor (1964) and O'Connor and Hermelin (1965) found marked under-responsiveness to sound, if compared with the response to light and touch, though they also reported impairment of visual discrimination.