Children diagnosed as autistic were matched by age and sex with 74 control subjects and examined for presence of minor physical anomalies. Of the 16 anomalies scored, autistic children demonstrated a significant accumulation greater than the number exhibited by normal children. Three of the stigmata--low seating of ears, hypertelorism, and syndactylia--were expressed differentially in the two groups, and high palate as well as unusual cranial circumference were significantly high in both groups. Clusters of stigmata that might be associated with known chromosomal disorders could not be identified. The increased number of anomalies suggests that among autistic children such congenital markers indicate a deviant intrauterine experience.

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Dermatolglyphic patterns of autistic children were compared to those of control subjects matched socioeconomically and by age and sex. Analysis of dermal ridge patterns and ridge counts resulted in significant differences between the 78 autistic and 78 normal children. Differences from normal expectation in the autistic children were most apparent in the reduced number of whorls and increased number of arches, in lowered ridge counts, and in less distinctness in formation of ridge line. The number of dermal ridges on autistic hands was much lower for each finger as well as for the total hand. Moreover, covariance of the contribution of increased numbers of arches failed to alter the significance of findings of general reduction of ridge count in the autistic sample. Other abnormalities of ridge structure among the autistics were noted and described. Complete absence of transverse crease in this sample was combined with other dermatoglyphic evidence to argue for the separateness of autism from other pathological syndromes. It was concluded that evidence was sufficient to indicate the existence of congenital factors in the etiology of autism.

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