In 1867, Henry Maudsley was the first psychiatrist to pay serious attention to very young children with severe mental disorders involving a marked deviation, delay, and distortion in the developmental processes. Ifautism is most strictly defined, prevalence rates of 2 cases per 10,000 are usually reported; less stringent definitions typicallysuggest prevalence rates of 7-5 cases per 10,000. It is clear that autistic individuals, as a group, exhibit significant increases in peripheral blood levels of serotonin, a central neurotransmitter involved in various regulatory neuronal systems that is also found in blood platelets and the digestive system. Educational approaches, behav or therapy and e ther haloper dol or seroton n reuptake inhibitors, in different patient groups, may be beneficial in the treatment of autistic disorder.
Key words: Autistic disorder, serotonin, pharmacotherapy,educational approaches, behavior therapy
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