The psychological profile of the fragile X syndrome.

An attempt is made to present a more accurate description of the psychological profile of males with the fragile X syndrome after the evaluation of an unselected group of 21 affected patients. Except for one boy with slight mental retardation, all were moderately to severely mentally retarded, with retardation of motor development and pronounced speech disability. The most striking behavioural problem is hyperactivity together with concentration difficulties. A great number of patients show automutilation especially with handbiting, and autistic behaviour also appears in some of them.