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Christopher Gillberg, (b. 1950) is a professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Gothenburg University in Gothenburg, Sweden, and at the medical college of St George's, University of London in Tooting in south London.

Gillberg is known for his research of autism in children, DAMP (Deficits in Attention, Motor control and Perception), Asperger syndrome and ADHD. He is the founding editor of the journal European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, and is the author and editor of several scientific and educational books. He is the recipient of several scientific awards, including the Philips Nordic Prize 2004 for neurological research, and he has more than 300 scientific papers listed in Medline.

Gillberg is involved in a legal controversy over confidentiality of destroyed patient records.

Gillberg's criteria for Asperger's syndrome

Gillberg's criteria are as follows (all six criteria must be met for confirmation of diagnosis):

1. Severe impairment in reciprocal social interaction (at least two of the following)
   1. inability to interact with peers
   2. lack of desire to interact with peers
   3. lack of appreciation of social cues
   4. socially and emotionally inappropriate behavior
2. All-absorbing narrow interest (at least one of the following)
   1. exclusion of other activities
   2. repetitive adherence
   3. more rote than meaning
3. Imposition of routines and interests (at least one of the following)
   1. on self, in aspects of life
   2. on others
4. Speech and language problems (at least three of the following)
   1. delayed development
   2. superficially perfect expressive language
   3. formal, pedantic language
   4. odd prosody, peculiar voice characteristics
   5. impairment of comprehension including misinterpretations of literal/implied meanings
5. Non-verbal communication problems (at least one of the following)
   1. limited use of gestures
   2. clumsy/gauche body language
   3. limited facial expression
   4. inappropriate expression
   5. peculiar, stiff gaze
6. Motor clumsiness: poor performance on neurodevelopmental examination

(These criteria are different than those given in the DSM-IV-TR.)

DAMP, MBD, and ADHD

Gillberg played a leading role in developing the concept DAMP (Deficits in Attention, Motor control and Perception) in the 1980s. The concept was partly based on previous attempts to define diagnostic criteria for MBD (Minimal Brain Dysfunction). Around 1990, DAMP was becoming an accepted diagnostic concept in the Nordic countries. DAMP is equivalent to ADHD in combination with DCD as defined by DSM-IV. (In the WHO system, it is equivalent to hyperkinetic disorder combined with a developmental disorder of motor function). About half of the children with ADHD also have DCD.

Criticism and controversy

In 1997 Gillberg co-authored an op-ed in Sweden's largest morning paper with the Chief School Physician of Stockholm. They argued that about 10% of Swedish children had neurologically related problems that required special consideration in school. A pediatrician named Leif Elinder criticised Gillberg and his research. Elinder was associated with the sociologist Eva Kärfve at Lund University, who wrote a book, published in 2000, rejecting most of the research on DAMP, and especially Gillberg's. Other psychiatrists and neuroscientists in Sweden defended the Gillberg group and argued that Kärfve had crossed the line from scientific criticism to personal attacks and vilification. A public controversy ensued with many articles in various Swedish trade journals and newspapers. The conflict escalated when Kärfve and Elinder wrote separate letters to Gothenburg University, accusing the Gillberg group of scientific misconduct. The accusations were investigated by the Ethics Council and dismissed as baseless in 2003. Elinder and Kärfve were not satisfied with this decision and demanded full access to the original research material for the main DAMP studies. Under a section of the Swedish basic law that grants citizens access to government documents, Elinder and Kärfve were given full access to the documents by an administrative court. The university, the Gillberg group, and the participants of the study were stongly opposed to this decision, on the grounds that the material contained highly sensitive information and that the participants had been promised full confidentiality. A higher court decided that neither the participants, the researchers, nor their institution, had the right to appeal the decision. In the end, three of Gillberg's coworkers destroyed the 12–27 years old research material, claiming that the privacy of the participating patients would have been violated had it been handed to Kärfve and Elinder. They were convicted of destroying government property. The final appeal was rejected in February 2006.

Notes

1. Philips: Philips Nordic Prize for research within Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Accessed 19 August 2006. "Last year's winner: Christopher Gillberg."
2. Gillberg IC, Gillberg C. "Asperger syndrome-some epidemiological considerations: A research note." J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 1989 Jul;30(4):631-8. PMID 2670981
3. Attwood, Tony. "Asperger's Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals". Jessica Kingsley, London, 1997. ISBN 1853025771, pp. 195-196.
4. Martin, Neilson C. (Feb, 2006). "DCD and ADHD: A genetic study of their shared aetiology". Human Movement Science 25. 25 (1). The Association for Child Psychology and Psychiatry: 110–124. doi:10.1016/j.humov.2005.10.006. ISSN: 0167-9457. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
5. White, C. Swedish court rules against doctor at centre of row over destroyed research data. British Medical Journal 2005 Jul 23;331(7510):180. PMID 16037439

References

• Ehlers, Stefan (Nov, 1993). "The Epidemiology of Asperger Syndrome - A Total Population Study". Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines. 34 (8). The Association for Child Psychology and Psychiatry: 1327–1350. ISSN: 0021-9630. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• Happe, Francesca (Dec 20, 1996). "'Theory of mind' in the brain. Evidence from a PET scan study of Asperger syndrome". Neuroreport. 8 (1). Rapid Science Publishers: 197–201. ISSN:0959-4965. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• Jamain, Stéphane (31 March, 2003). "Mutations of the X-linked genes encoding neuroligins NLGN3 and NLGN4 are associated with autism". Nature Genetics. 34 (1). Nature Publishing Group: 27–29. doi:10.1038/ng1136. ISSN: 1061-4036. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• Philippe, Anne (May, 1999). "Genome-wide scan for autism susceptibility genes". Human Molecular Genetics. 8 (5). Oxford University Press: 805–812. doi:10.1093/hmg/8.5.805. ISSN: 1460-2083. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• Ståhlberg, Ola (July 2004). "Bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and other psychotic disorders in adults with childhood onset AD/HD and/or autism spectrum disorders". Journal of Neural Transmission. 111 (7). Springer Wien: 891–902. doi:10.1007/s00702-004-0115-1. ISSN: 0300-9564. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• Steffenburg, Suzanne (May, 1989). "A Twin Study of Autism in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden". Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines. 30 (3). The Association for Child Psychology and Psychiatry: 405–416. ISSN: 0021-9630. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

Further reading

• Coleman, Mary; Gillberg, Christopher (1985). The biology of the autistic syndromes. New York: Praeger. ISBN 0030008344.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

• Gillberg, Christopher (1981). Neuropsychiatric aspects of perceptual, motor and attentional deficits in seven-year-old Swedish children. Uppsala: Uppsala University. ISBN 9155412122.

• Gillberg, Christopher (ed.) (1989). Diagnosis and treatment of autism. New York: Plenum Press. ISBN 0306434814. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)

• Gillberg, Christopher (1995). Clinical Child Neuropsychiatry. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521543355.

• Gillberg, Christopher; Peeters, Theo (1998). Autism : medical and educational aspects. London: Whurr. ISBN 0521543355.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

• Gillberg, Christopher (2002). A Guide to Asperger Syndrome. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521001838.

• Gillberg, Christopher;Harrington, Richard; Steinhausen, Hans-Christoph (2006). A clinician's handbook of child and adolescent psychiatry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521819367.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

External links

Template:Wikinewshas

• Philips Prize - Information about the Philips Prize
• European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (journal)
• The Autism Puzzle (A BBC documentary featuring Gillberg)
• An interview with Gillberg in Looking Up (an autism newsletter) 3:12, 2005.
• Kärfe, Elinder, and others defend their accusations - "Rapid responses" submitted to British Medical Journal, 2004
• Various responses to Kärfve Gothenburg University, 2001 (in Swedish)
• Riksförbundet Attention supports Gillberg Official web page in Swedish, Aug 21, 2005. (Riksförbundet Attention is a national Swedish association for people with neuropsychiatric disabilities.)
• Riksföreningen Autism supports Gillberg Press release in Swedish. Undated, 2006. (Riksföreningen Autism is the national Swedish association for people with autism and autism-like disorders.)

• 1950 births
• Academics of St George's, University of London
• Autism
• Living people
• Swedish psychiatrists
• Swedish physicians