Infantile autism in dizygotic twins. A case report.

This was a case study of a pair of dizygotic twins who both developed psychotic symptoms indicative of infantile autism at the age of 31--32 months. By the age of 5 years, when the children were evaluated, and over the 1 1/2 years they were followed, some improvement could be observed. Certain family events which took place just prior to the outbreak of the psychosis are reported, and the point is made that these may have had some causative relation with the disorder by acting as environmental stress factors. The possibility of a genetic factor also contributing to the appearance of the disorder could not be excluded in view of the existence of a first cousin with autistic symptoms.