B R I E F H I S T O R Y O F A U T I S M
The term autism was first used by a psychiatrist, Dr. Eugen Bleuler, in 1908 to describe patients with schizophrenia who withdrew themselves from reality. Originated from the Greek word, “autós” and autism was used by Bleuler to define these individuals with abnormal self admiration and severe withdrawal from others.
Decades later, Hans Asperger and Leo Kanner pioneered into the research of autism. In 1943, child psychiatrist Leo Kanner published a paper describing a subset of children who were highly intelligent however exhibited “a powerful desire for aloneness” and “an obsessive insistence on persistent sameness”. He also stated that these children had difficulty adapting to changes …show more content…
The focus of external factors which caused autism was narrow and misleading, as the research conducted did not consider the role of genetics and biology which we know understand is the leading cause of autism. In 1967, psychologist Bruno Bettelheim promoted the theory of ‘refrigerator mothers’, a term which he used to describe frigid and aloof parents. Working in conjunction with psychiatrist Leo Kanner, both claimed that parental rejection was the cause of autism in individuals. Although this misleading claim was later debunked, the theory led to more subsequent enduring misconceptions and misapprehensions of autism that continue to persist to this day.
It was not until 1977 that research on twins revealed the genetic and biological differences in the brain development of a child with autism, such as chromosome abnormalities and gene mutations. Three years later, “infantile autism” was officially separated from childhood schizophrenia in the published Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). In 1987, the term, “infantile autism” was later replaced by a broader term - “autism
The term autism was first used by a psychiatrist, Dr. Eugen Bleuler, in 1908 to describe patients with schizophrenia who withdrew themselves from reality. Originated from the Greek word, “autós” and autism was used by Bleuler to define these individuals with abnormal self admiration and severe withdrawal from others.
Decades later, Hans Asperger and Leo Kanner pioneered into the research of autism. In 1943, child psychiatrist Leo Kanner published a paper describing a subset of children who were highly intelligent however exhibited “a powerful desire for aloneness” and “an obsessive insistence on persistent sameness”. He also stated that these children had difficulty adapting to changes …show more content…
The focus of external factors which caused autism was narrow and misleading, as the research conducted did not consider the role of genetics and biology which we know understand is the leading cause of autism. In 1967, psychologist Bruno Bettelheim promoted the theory of ‘refrigerator mothers’, a term which he used to describe frigid and aloof parents. Working in conjunction with psychiatrist Leo Kanner, both claimed that parental rejection was the cause of autism in individuals. Although this misleading claim was later debunked, the theory led to more subsequent enduring misconceptions and misapprehensions of autism that continue to persist to this day.
It was not until 1977 that research on twins revealed the genetic and biological differences in the brain development of a child with autism, such as chromosome abnormalities and gene mutations. Three years later, “infantile autism” was officially separated from childhood schizophrenia in the published Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). In 1987, the term, “infantile autism” was later replaced by a broader term - “autism