Autism and Emotion

Abstract

AbstractIn the first description of the syndrome of autism, Kanner (1943) considered that “disturbances of affective contact” are central to the disorder. This idea has received fresh interest with the recognition that cognitive theories of autism fail to deal with important aspects of the children's limitations in personal relatedness. The challenge is to specify and then measure what affect perception and expression as well as “affective contact” entail, to determine what is missing or unusual in these respects among children with autism, and to trace the developmental implications, not least for the growth of self‐awareness.