History of Autism

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  • Original Designation of Autism

    Leo Kanner presented the original designation and definition of autism, "problems with basic socialization and communication, strange intonation and facial expressions, and intense preoccupations or repetitive behaviors."

  • Refrigerator Mother

    Kanner claims autism is due to a mother who is cold and lacks empathy; he also claims autism is associated with highly intellectual biological parents.

  • Autism: an Emotional Disability

    Bruno Bettleheim claims that autism was an emoitonal disorder.

  • Autism: a Biological Condition

    In 1964 Bernard Rimland made ties to a father's tendencies and his son's.

  • TEACCH

    Schopler started the Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH) program at the University of North Carolina.

  • Autistic Disorder

    "Autistic Disorder" replaced "Infantile Autism" in the manual and gave a more expansive explanation of the diagnosis.

  • Autism Identification

    In 1991, schools begin to identify and serve students with autism.

  • PDD-NOS

    In 1994, both Pervasive Developmental Disorder- Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), and Aspergers Syndrome and Asperger's Syndrome we added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - 4th Edition. This is the main resource for a physician's diagnosis.

  • DSM-V

    Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Fifth Edition (DSM-IV) brought about significant changes in the manual; the diagnosis will now be referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). There will no longer be sub diagnoses such as Asperger syndrome, PDD-NOS, etc.