three-year-old jared was taken to the doctor by his parents, who were concerned by his seeming lack of attachment to those around him. jared hardly spoke a word to his parents and would not respond when his parents called out to him. his parents arranged play dates with other children his age so that jared could mingle with other kids and play with them; however, jared would instead go to a corner and spend all day preoccupied with bouncing his ball. after a thorough investigation, his pediatrician diagnosed him with