1. Diagnosis and definition of autism and other pervasive developmental disorders Scott L. J. Jackson and Fred R. Volkmar; 2. Epidemiological surveys of pervasive developmental disorders Julianne Myers, Alison Chavez, Alison Presmanes Hill, Katharine Zuckerman and Eric Fombonne; 3. Psychological factors in autism Giacomo Vivanti, Benjamin E. Yerys and Erica Salomone; 4. Communication and its development in autism spectrum disorders Rhea Paul; 5. Genetic epidemiology of autism spectrum disorders Ryan K. C. Yuen, Peter Szatmari and Jacob A. S. Vorstman; 6. The neurobiology of autism Christopher Gillberg, Clare Allely, Thomas Bourgeron, Mary Coleman, Elisabeth Fernell, Nouchine Hadjikhani and Darko Sarovic; 7. Psychopharmacology Lindsey Mooney, Cara Fosdick and Craig A. Erickson; 8. Behavioral and educational interventions Samuel L. Odom, Kristi Morin, Melissa Savage and Brianne Tomaszewski; 9. Translating research into social policy Peter Doehring; 10. Adult life for people with autism spectrum disorder Iliana Magiati and Patricia Howlin.