Understanding Autism and Autistic Functioning

This concise volume offers an accessible overview of recent clinical and research perspectives addressing autism and autistic functioning. By providing an innovative lens, the book benefits from two different angles: a concrete and pragmatical view of an expert clinician with three decades of practice in diagnosis and treatment of autism, and a more “speculative” and “long-term” view of a researcher who works on neural and computational architecture of (a)typical neurocognitive functioning.

Trying to understand autism beyond its behavioral symptoms, the book spans from clinical descriptions (e.g., communicating diagnosis, clinical intervention, and prognosis) to recent neuroscientific evidence supporting a potential perspective-shift. The fil rouge of this volume can be summarized in three fundamental aspects that should orient any clinical practice in the context of autism (e.g., diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, etc.): we need an age-dependent, context-dependent, and functioning-dependent approach.

Understanding Autism and Autistic Functioning is crucial reading for parents and caregivers, and professionals in health, education, and social care.

Laura Villa is a doctor specializing in child neuropsychiatry at the University of Milan (Italy) and also a psychotherapist. She works at the Scientific Institute IRCCS MEDEA – Associazione “La Nostra Famiglia” (Italy) where she is the head of the rehabilitative services for children with autism.

Luca Casartelli is a researcher (PhD from the University of Geneva, Switzerland) and head of the “Theoretical and Cognitive Neuroscience” Research Unit at the Scientific Institute IRCCS MEDEA. Currently, he is also Adjunct Professor of Developmental Neuroscience at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University (Italy) and of Philosophy at the University of Milan (Italy).