players switched from tape to CD and as automotive
manufacturers began including CD players in their
vehicles. An even more dramatic change occurred
with the introduction of MP3 players, which could
download books over the Internet. Such mass-
produced digital audio players were introduced in
1997, and Audible.com led the way in making books
available on the World Wide Web in 1998.
Impact By the end of the twentieth century,
audiobooks had grown into a $2 billion industry. An
APA study found that the audiobook market grew
360 percent from 1990 to 1998, five times the growth
of its print counterpart, with 21 percent of American
households listening to audiobooks. A medium
most familiar to public library patrons in the 1980’s
had become a central part of American life.
Further Reading
Hoffman, Preston, and Carol H. Osteyee.Audio Book
Breakthrough: A Guide to Selection and Use in Public
Libraries and Education. Westport, Conn.: Green-
wood Press, 1994.
Oder, Norman. “The Future of Unabridged?”Librar y
Journal126, no. 19 (November 15, 2001): 38-39.
Rosenblum, Trudi M. “From LPs to Downloads.”
Publishers Weekly246, no. 49 (December 6, 1999):
32-33.
Michael Adams
See also Book clubs; Children’s literature; Com-
puters; Digital audio; Dot-coms; Internet; MP3 for-
mat; Publishing; Spoken word movement.
Autism
Definition A developmental disorder of the brain
that affects social interaction and
communication skills in individuals
In the 1990’s, autism diagnosis began to increase dramati-
cally; one out of ever y five hundred children was affected by
autism. This increase was due in part to the standardized
methods of identification that were developed in the mid-
1990’s.
Individuals with autism are found in all racial, eth-
nic, and socioeconomic levels. The main symptom
of the disorder is the inability to relate to people. Au-
tism affects individuals of a wide range of cognitive
abilities, ranging from those with a high IQ to those
who have mental retardation. Autism is difficult to
diagnose; early signs are often behavioral rather
than physical. Therefore, most individuals are not
diagnosed until after the age two. However, as with
any disorder, the earlier the diagnosis, the better.
The incidence of autism is higher in males than in
females.Causes and Symptoms Signs of autism include de-
lay in spoken language and repetitive patterns of be-
havior and activities, such as eating the same food
each day or walking the same route to a room. Autis-
tic symptoms also include nontypical responses
from the senses, such as oversensitivity to noise,
light, and touch. Other symptoms include the lack
of pretend play prior to age three and delayed or
nontypical social interaction with others. Individ-
uals with autism may also exhibit challenging be-
havior.
In 1990, the cause of autism was unknown. Some
researchers indicated that autism was caused by a
combination of genetic and environmental factors,
such as a virus and/or vaccinations. However, the in-
cidence of autism was higher for individuals who
have a family member with autism. Historically, and
prior to the 1990’s, autism was thought to be caused
by cold, uncaring parents who caused the child to
develop poor social skills and to withdraw from soci-
ety. This type of thinking led to families of children
with autism being ostracized by society and blamed
for the child’s condition. During the 1990’s, how-
ever, these perceptions were changing. Parents were
viewed more as collaborators with professionals.
Children with autism benefited from the family in-
volvement by being able to generalize skills in a vari-
ety of settings. This family-professional partnership
empowered families to advocate for change.Major Changes in Diagnosis In 1991, theAutism Di-
agnostic Interviewwas published and used to diagnose
individuals with autism. In 1992, the American Psy-
chiatric Association redefined criteria for diagnos-
ing individuals with autism. It became classified as a
specific spectrum disorder, which meant that the in-
tensity of autism may vary among individuals af-
fected by the disorder. Autism was also included in
the fourth edition ofDiagnostic and Statistical Manual
of Mental Disorders(DSM-IV, 1994). Before this time,
autism was listed as an emotional disturbance with
no knowledge of the cause.66 Autism The Nineties in America