Understanding Autism and Autistic Functioning

<p>This concise volume offers an accessible overview of recent clinical and research perspectives addressing autism and autistic functioning. By providing an innovative lens the book benefits from two different angles: a concrete and pragmatical view of an expert clinician with three decades of practice in diagnosis and treatment of autism and a more “speculative” and “long-term” view of a researcher who works on neural and computational architecture of (a)typical neurocognitive functioning.</p><p>Trying to understand autism beyond its behavioral symptoms the book spans from clinical descriptions (e.g. communicating diagnosis clinical intervention and prognosis) to recent neuroscientific evidence supporting a potential perspective-shift. The <i>fil rouge</i> of this volume can be summarized in three fundamental aspects that should orient any clinical practice in the context of autism (e.g. diagnosis treatment monitoring etc.): we need an <i>age</i>-dependent <i>context</i>-dependent and <i>functioning</i>-dependent approach.</p><p><em>Understanding Autism and Autistic Functioning</em> is crucial reading for parents and caregivers and professionals in health education and social care.</p>