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Intellectual Development in Autism – discussion
By Dr Giacomo Vivanti
Since its publication our paper “Intellectual Development in Autism” has been subject to debate and discussion. In the paper, we advance the thesis that symptoms of autism, by precluding children to fully take advantage of the social input from the environment during early critical periods, might negatively affect their intellectual development. Therefore, children who have severe symptoms of ASD may be at increased risk of developing intellectual disability, as a consequence of more severe “virtual deprivation” from environmental input.
