The past decade
G A RY B . M E S I B OV The University of North Caroline at Chapel Hill, USA
It has been a remarkable decade in the field of autism and the journal,
Autism, has been a major contributor to the progress. Over the past 10 years
we have recognized how prevalent autism actually has become. In 1995
who would have ever thought that today’s accepted rate of Autism Spectrum
Disorders could be anything approaching 1 in 166. Parent and professional
advocacy has also persuaded national governments to recognize and
respond to autism with grants and funding that is beyond our wildest
dreams of a decade ago. So the field is incredibly different than when the
journal began.
Another important change has been the increased interest in treatment
research. This is an important development and Autism has played a major
role in this evolution. I believe we all owe a tremendous debt of gratitude
to the journal for recognizing the importance of treatment and intervention
and publishing high quality papers describing and evaluating intervention
techniques. Although this has represented a major advance forward, treatment
research has not kept pace with the funds and attention that has gone
into more basic biomedical research. I think this is partly a function of
governments’ preference for more basic research but also the difficulty of
doing good treatment research in a field like autism. Another problem is
the traditional research methods emphasizing randomized assignment to
groups, stringent control groups, and blind evaluations of treatment
progress just don’t fit as neatly into autism treatment research as they do
for biomedical or pharmacological interventions.
My hope for the next decade is that we will develop more appropriate
and responsive treatment intervention approaches that will meet the standards
for scientifically rigorous research on treatments and autism. I think
this will require thoughtful adaptations and creative ways of evaluating
treatment outcomes. Given what we have accomplished in the past decade
in our field, I am sure this daunting task is within our grasp, given the
resourcefulness and creativity of the investigators in our field. I am sure that
the journal Autism will be in the forefront of developing and disseminating
these important new ways of evaluating treatment outcomes and I congratulate
everybody in the National Autistic Society for their vision in creating
this innovative journal and their effectiveness in producing and disseminating
this important addition to our autism family.
E D I TO R I A L
7
J OAQU I N F U E N T E S M D San Sebastian, Spain
Significant changes have taken place over the last decade in Spain in the
field of autism. AETAPI, the Spanish Society of Professionals in Autism continues
to disseminate innovative practice and research, not only through its
national meetings, but also via the task forces operating in between congresses.
Parents’ societies are present in all regions of the country and coordinate
their efforts to influence policies and develop support services
throughout two national confederations: AUTISM SPAIN and FESPAU.
A new exciting role is being played in the last years by an initiative from
the (National) Institute of Health Carlos III, from the Ministry of Health. Its
Study Group on Autism Spectrum Disorders has reviewed the diagnostic
experience of hundreds of families in the country and, in an amelioration
effort, has produced four reports describing guidelines for good practice:
on research, on early detection, on diagnosis and on treatment. This has
been complemented with the elaboration of teaching materials and the
updated maintenance of a complete web page (http://iier.isciii.es/autismo),
frequently visited by families and professionals. Also, as a spin-off effect of
its activity, multicentric research has been initiated.
Despite the fact that needs are still identified in many areas all these
examples, as well as fluent international contacts, allow us to expect an
every day brighter future in our field. In this regard, having an international
journal, such as Autism has been very welcomed in our country. Accessing
relevant information is the only way to gain knowledge! And our journal
has found its place among us.
MARGOT P R I O R Royal Childrens Hospital, Melbourne,Australia
The Autism journal has played a valuable role in bringing together both
research and clinical expertise in its published papers. This much needed
connectedness is slowly developing internationally, especially in social and
behavioural domains of autism research, and our journal is a leader in this
endeavour. The substantial growth of interest and expertise in early intervention
programs for children with ASD is extraordinarily important. We
are gradually accumulating evidence about optimum teaching methods and
effective ways of enhancing development in critical early stages of development.
The central role of family support and partnership in treatment is
much more clearly recognized. This growth in intervention expertise has
allowed us to see that children with ASD are capable of better outcomes
than we previously believed possible, hence there is a feeling of greater
optimism about their futures. Greater awareness in a better educated public,
and more expertise and vigilance in identifying children with ASD in health
AU T I S M 10(1)
8
professionals has allowed earlier diagnosis and intervention, although
service provision still lags well behind demand. The last few years have also
seen increased attention to Asperger syndrome and high functioning
autism, where current evidence indicates that they constitute the same
higher level on the spectrum, with particular management and educational
needs that require flexible and insightful attitudes from health and educational
authorities.
Myths and ‘false beliefs’ have always been a feature of the field of autism.
It is encouraging to see a greater readiness to challenge false claims,
although publication of replication studies and of negative results is still
not easy to achieve. The journal could encourage well conducted replication
studies and play a role in encouraging debate and critical review.
Adequate provision of high quality, evidence based education services
which will really make a difference to outcomes for children with ASD is
everyone’s hope for the future
L O R NA W I N G Centre for Social and Communication Disorders, Kent, UK
Throughout its 10 year history, the journal Autism has provided a record of
progress in the field and has been a forum for discussion of aspects of
autistic disorders that have been the focus of interest . Papers giving different
points of view on controversial issues have been published. The journal’s
publications reflect the fact that there have been no dramatic breakthroughs
in research into autism spectrum disorders over the last decade, however,
there has been a steady growth in awareness that they are developmental
disorders overlapping with other developmental conditions and with some
neuropsychiatric conditions, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder,
Tourette’s syndrome and catatonia. Consequent changes in diagnostic
criteria have led to continuing increase in prevalence estimates. Genetic
factors have been implicated in aetiology but the identities of the genes
involved are still being investigated. Differences from typical brain function
when carrying out tasks needing social skills have been demonstrated.
Questions concerning environmental factors in the causes of autism
continue to be asked but finding definitive answers is difficult because of
the ethical and practical problems of carrying out direct research as
opposed to large-scale epidemiological surveys. Suggestions for all kinds of
physical and psychological treatments continue to appear but the few that
have been scientifically tested have been found ineffective or limited in their
applicability. A structured, organized daily programme based on each individual’s
skills, impairments and special interests continues to be the best
available approach.
E D I TO R I A L
9
To express a personal opinion, I suggest that progress would be made
if autistic disorders were viewed as conditions in which empathic awareness
of and understanding of others, typically present from birth, is absent
or impaired, but any other dimension of development may be impaired to
any degree, or unaffected, or even functioning at a high level. The subgroups
based on the illogical mix of criteria in ICD-10/DSM-IV should be
abandoned. A dimensional approach would facilitate research into genetics,
brain pathology, relationships with other conditions, possible environmental
factors in aetiology and, top priority, ways of helping people with
different profiles of skills and impairments at different stages of their lives.
The Research Autism Trust has been set up by the NAS to promote this last
aim. I hope to see these controversial ideas discussed in the pages of Autism
over the next 10 years. May the journal continue to provide an invaluable
forum for both parents and professionals in this challenging field.
AU T I S M 10(1)
10
On behalf of all the team at SAGE Publications, I wanted to acknowledge and
thank Pat Howlin and Rita Jordan, Founding Editors, for their hard work and
commitment to Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice. Thanks to their
energy, enthusiasm and experience they have built a well respected and widely
read journal of international repute.
As we celebrate the Journal’s 10th anniversary, SAGE is proud to have collaborated
with two of the leading scholars in the field. Autism is a testament to
their lasting contribution to the study of people with autism and Asperger
syndrome. Together they have helped to shape the discipline and opened the
debate on what still remains one of the most complex and intriguing conditions.
The inclusion of Autism in the social science citation index in 2002 finally
stamped its already global reputation in the field; and its increase in peer
citations offers conclusive evidence of its influence amongst a wider range of
academics worldwide. Furthermore, this year marks an increase in frequency
from five issues to six, thus widening the opportunity for debate for scholars
around the world.
Pat has, sadly, decided to step down at the end of Volume 10 and we are
faced with a period of change – something which can be difficult for all of us!
We would like to wish her the very best in her new ventures. Rita remains at
the helm and we are delighted to welcome Dermot Bowler, from the Autism
Research Group at the Department of Psychology at City University, as Pat’s
successor.
Pat and Rita – thank you!
K E R RY B A R N E R Publishing Editor, SAGE Publications Ltd
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"Tall people can be recognized by three things: generosity in the design, humanity in the execution and moderation in success"
21 Mar 2011, 1:11 pm
