Autism and congenital blindness

The nature of autism in congenitally blind children has long been a source of interest and perplexity. A group of nine congenitally blind children with an autism-like syndrome were closely matched on chronological age and Verbal mental age with nine sighted autistic children, and were compared on the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (Schopler, Reichler, and Renner, 1986) and the Behavior Checklist for Disordered Preschoolers, together with the Play Items for Disordered PreSchoolers (Sherman, Shapiro, and Glassman, 1983). A checklist of clinical features characteristic of autism (derived from DSM-III-R) was also completed through an interview with teachers. There was substantial similarity between the groups, but also suggestive evidence of possible group differences, specifically in the domain of social-emotional responsiveness. Research on the psychological development of congenitally blind children promises to yield insights into the nature of autism itself.