I’m very sorry to hear about your friend’s son. For whatever it’s worth, I think it’s awesome you’re taking the time to educate yourself in order to better help the child.
Do you have a name for his particular form of autism? You mention it is atypical, and the specific symptoms may be important.
Once you have the particular name, Google Scholar and the Journal of PLoS Medicine may be good places to begin your search. Do database searches for a review article on the particular form of autism.
Review articles are the best way to come up to speed on any given scientific subject. They also provide a massive list of resources for further study. Specifically, look for review articles published in the last few years. To ensure quality, they must be published in a peer-reviewed, academic journal. In this case, peer-review is your best defense against pseudo-science. The more prestigious the journal, the better. IIRC, Science and Nature are the top two of the life sciences.
If you can’t find any review articles on his particular form of autism, try to get one on autism in general. Heck, maybe try to do that, anyway. Between those two papers, there should be a wealth of citations for further research. Best case scenario, they cite a recent textbook.
Another approach would be to speak with a professor from a university. An expert in the field, particularly with knowledge of the specific form of autism, would be the jackpot. You can check their CV for a list of published papers and chapters. If their work on the subject is reputable—e.g. published, peer-reviewed, highly cited, etc. - then they are more likely the be a genuine authority. He or she can more aptly answer your questions and point you in the right direction.
I’m very sorry to hear about your friend’s son. For whatever it’s worth, I think it’s awesome you’re taking the time to educate yourself in order to better help the child.
Do you have a name for his particular form of autism? You mention it is atypical, and the specific symptoms may be important.
Once you have the particular name, Google Scholar and the Journal of PLoS Medicine may be good places to begin your search. Do database searches for a review article on the particular form of autism.
Review articles are the best way to come up to speed on any given scientific subject. They also provide a massive list of resources for further study. Specifically, look for review articles published in the last few years. To ensure quality, they must be published in a peer-reviewed, academic journal. In this case, peer-review is your best defense against pseudo-science. The more prestigious the journal, the better. IIRC, Science and Nature are the top two of the life sciences.
If you can’t find any review articles on his particular form of autism, try to get one on autism in general. Heck, maybe try to do that, anyway. Between those two papers, there should be a wealth of citations for further research. Best case scenario, they cite a recent textbook.
Another approach would be to speak with a professor from a university. An expert in the field, particularly with knowledge of the specific form of autism, would be the jackpot. You can check their CV for a list of published papers and chapters. If their work on the subject is reputable—e.g. published, peer-reviewed, highly cited, etc. - then they are more likely the be a genuine authority. He or she can more aptly answer your questions and point you in the right direction.