Introduction. Autism is defined as a disorder that manifests itself in early childhood and continues throughout a lifetime. People suffering from autism have problems with establishing interpersonal relationships, their mastery of the skills needed to communicate is bad, and they tend to exhibit persistent behavior and stereotypical activity. Aim. The main aim of the study is the deconstruction of psychological and pedagogical views on autism in children and of the differences between individual concepts, which account for this phenomenon. Material and method. Meta-analysis of selected research papers in English, Polish, Russian and Ukrainian published over the last 30 years. Results. The topics of previous research have shifted from strictly clinical and socio-psychological issues to psychological and pedagogical ones. According to both approaches parents are the main cause of the disorder. The separation of autism as an independent psychological and pedagogical problem took place gradually and it resulted in very different generalizations. As in the case of the majority of other disorders the etiology of autism is complex and not fully understood. The article presents various concepts applied in explaining the causes of autism.

Key words: autism, concepts, autistic child..