[Catamnestic study of children hospitalized with the diagnosis of Kanner's infantile autism].

Kanner's infantile autism is conceived as a psychosis of early childhood manifested clinically as schizophrenic syndrome with dominating extreme spontaneous isolation of the child (autism). The authors attempted a catamnestic investigation of 20 patients where their diagnosis was made during hospitalization. In 17 cases it was possible to confirm this diagnosis after a certain time interval, in two patients oligophrenia was confirmed and only in one child disharmonious personality development. In patients with a confirmed diagnosis of Kanner's infantile autism the actual psychopathology of rational abilities was tested (a defective intellect was confirmed in all investigated children), social relations of the patients and the level of speech development. Attention was also paid to psychopharmacotherapy. The majority of junior patients, but only four of the senior patients, are in families. Senior patients and sometimes also preschool children with partial speech development are in social care institutions where the defect of the disease proper is potentiated by negative aspects of the asylum. Kanner's infantile autism is a serious disease which affects the entire mental development of the child, not only the emotional development. In the sphere of therapy, and in particular psychopharmacotherapy, much remains to be done, psychiatric intervention is frequently only at the diagnostic and follow-up level of the disease.