?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Is+Autism+Statistically+Linked+to+Early+Non-Maternal+Child+Care%3F&rft.creator=McDowell%2C+Doctor+Maxson+J.&rft.subject=Developmental+Psychology&rft.description=Autism+represents+a+pervasive+cascade+of+developmental+(psychological)+failures.+Therefore+the+primary+deficit+in+autism%2C+the+necessary+and+sufficient+cause%2C+should+be+a+very+early+psychological+failure.+Genes+and+other+biological+factors+linked+to+autism+are+neither+necessary+nor+sufficient+to+cause+autism.+Nor+could+biological+factors+have+changed+quickly+enough+to+account+for+recent+changes+in+the+incidence+of+autism.+Biological+factors+must+work+indirectly%2C+by+increasing+the+probability+of+the+primary+deficit.+Brain+differences+may+be+secondary++to+early+social+deprivation.+The+personality%2C+like+all+other+dynamic+systems%2C+must+self-organize+from+a+few+simple+components.+I+summarize+in+this+paper+some+of+the+evidence+that+a+very+early+step+in+the+self-organization+of+the+personality+is+the+internalization+of+the+image+of+the+mother's+eyes.+I+propose+that+failure+to+internalize+that+image+is+the+primary+deficit+in+autism.+Recent+dramatic+increases+in+the+incidence+of+autism+coincide+with+dramatic+increases+in+the+very+early+use+of+non-maternal+child+care+including+TV%2C+video+and+computer+games.+Reduced+exposure+to+the+mother's+gaze+would+mitigate+against+internalizing+the+image+of+the+mother's+eyes.+My+hypothesis+predicts+that+autism+is+statistically+linked+to+early+non-maternal+child+care.+This+prediction+has+implications+for+preventing+autism.+It+should+be+confirmed+or+refuted+by+the+current+Norwegian-American+study%2C+The+Autism+Birth+Cohort.&rft.contributor=Goertzel%2C+Ben&rft.contributor=Combs%2C+Allan&rft.contributor=Germine%2C+Mark&rft.date=2004-08&rft.type=Journal+(On-line%2FUnpaginated)&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=text%2Fhtml&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F3747%2F1%2FAutism-Statistical.html&rft.identifier=++McDowell%2C+Doctor+Maxson+J.++(2004)+Is+Autism+Statistically+Linked+to+Early+Non-Maternal+Child+Care%3F++%5BJournal+(On-line%2FUnpaginated)%5D++++(In+Press)++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F3747%2F