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Case Report
Autistic spectrum disorder and fairy tales: A case study
1 Medical student at Iguaçu University, Iguaçu University- UNIG/RJ, Nova Iguaçu-RJ, Brazil
2 Physician, Neurologist, Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Universidade Iguaçu, UNIG/Nova Iguaçu, RJ, Brazil
3 Neuroradiologist, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro-UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro-RJ, Brazil
4 Department of Neurology of Hospital Geral de Nova Iguaçu, PhD student in Neurology at the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro-UNIRIO, Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Iguaçu University-UNIG/Nova Iguaçu, RJ, Brazil
Address correspondence to:
Antônio Marcos da Silva Catharino
Rua Gavião Peixoto 70, Room 811, CEP 24.2230-100, Icaraí, Niterói-RJ,
Brazil
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Article ID: 101414Z01ES2023
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How to cite this article
da Silva EGAF, Leme LE, Pereira DA, Neves MAO, Toomassini LAB, da Silva Catharino AM. Autistic spectrum disorder and fairy tales: A case study. Int J Case Rep Images 2023;14(2):75–79.ABSTRACT
Introduction: Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder identified by atypical behavioral manifestations, which may present a restricted repertoire of interests and activities and poor communication and social interaction. Its etiology remains unknown and is present in more than 500,000 people throughout Brazil. In this article, there is a brief literature review for the basis of the autistic spectrum disorder and its finding in the patient regarding her wonder about the fairytale princess.
Case Report: JAD, 17 years old, is a student without comorbidities. She had been diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Cognitive Deficit, and Epilepsy. At 14 months, she started convulsive crises that were difficult to control, about four episodes daily. About ten months ago, an obsession with a specific fairy tale character (Snow White) began. She put herself in the character’s place and suffered from “supposedly” not receiving visits from the entire group that made up the fairy tale. She had severe cognitive delay and disjointed reasoning. She was spoken very little, did not make long sentences. It presented alterations in neuroimaging.
Conclusion: After understanding the definition of the disorder, which involves a change in neurodevelopment, whether in the brain anatomy or due to a deficiency in the neuronal circuit, it is noted that even though the diagnosis is clinical, in some cases—including the reported case—the diagnosis imaging can also help to understand possible behavioral changes due to an anatomical abnormality.
Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder, Autistic disorder, Diagnostic imaging, Neurodevelopmental disorders
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Author Contributions
Esther Gomes Andrade Figueiredo da Silva - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Analysis of data, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Final approval of the version to be published
Luiza Eyer Leme - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Final approval of the version to be published
Daniel Antunes Pereira - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Final approval of the version to be published
Marco Antônio Orsini Neves - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Lara Alexandre Brandão Toomassini - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Antônio Marcos da Silva Catharino - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Guarantor of SubmissionThe corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.
Source of SupportNone
Consent StatementWritten informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this article.
Data AvailabilityAll relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Conflict of InterestAuthors declare no conflict of interest.
Copyright© 2023 Esther Gomes Andrade Figueiredo da Silva et al. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information.
