Autism

The History of Autism

  • Child Psychiatry and Leo Kanner

    In the 1930s, Leo Kanner became the first Child Psychiatrist at Johns Hopkinds Hospital.
  • Leo Kanner published the paper "Autistic Disorders of Affective Contact"

    In 1943, Leo Kanner published a paper titled "Autistic Disorders of Affective Contact." This article discusses 11 Cases of children with specifc behavior abnormalites. Kanner would term these abnormalites as early infantile syndrome.
  • Hans Asperger publishes the article "Die aunstisehen Psychopathen' im Kindesalter'"

    In the article titled "Die aunstisehen Psychopathen' im Kindesalter'", Hans Asperger conducted a study with 6 case studies. The children in this study had very similiar symptoms to those of Leo Kanners Study. As though the symptoms are similar, there were differences that would later reveal as a different syndrome terms Asperger Syndrome.
  • Double Helix Structure Discovered

    The double-helix structure of DNA was discovered by Watson, Crick, Wilkins, and Franklin. During the same time frame, eugenics was a sensitive topic to doctors and parents as they would perhaps see Autism as a disease that could not be cured.
  • Leo Kanners Quote in Time Magazine

    Leo Kanner made a judgement that Mothers of Children who have autism are cold to their child. The name "Refrigerator Mother "came about from this observation.
  • LSD used as a Drug to Treat Autism

    LSD was used in the 1960's to treat individuals with Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia.
  • Research involving Autism

    Technology has contributed to the rapid increase of research starting in the 1960s.
  • Diagnostic scale for Diagnosing Autism

    Creak created a 9 point scale to diagnose Autism. The scaled had 9 items, and the child had to score at least a 7 to be diagnosed with infantile autism.
  • TEACCH Approach

    Dr. Eric Shoppler introduced the TEACCH approach to classrooms. The parents and child learn strategies to help gain independence and structure.
  • Bettleheims's "The Empty Fortress"

    Bettleheim wrote "The Empty Fortress" to bring about to the public the success stories of the school he administered for students that were emotionally disturebed, including those with autism. The school was named The Orthogenic school and is located in Chicago. The findings of his success story remain controversial.
  • Dr. Bernard Rimland and his Book

    Rimland published a boook that suggested that Autism has a link with genetics. The book was called "Infantile Autism: The Syndrome and its Implications for neural Theory of Behaviour."
  • Autism in the DSM III

    Autism was introduced to the Diagnostic Statistical Mannual for Mental Disorders (3) in 1980.
  • Asperger Syndrome term first used

    "Asperger Sydrome" was first used in 1981 to describe children. Lorna King was the person to use this syndrom developed from Hans Aspergers published study.
  • Lovaas and Applied Behavior Analysis

    A highly effective from of intervention, Lovaas brought to life the effects of Applied Behavior Analysis with his longitudinal study publshed in 1987.
  • The Suicide of Bettelheim

    Bettelheim commited suicide in 1990. An investigation of Bettelheims work found that he construed his findings and many of his research was not accurate. There were accusations against him that he abused the children at the school he administered.
  • Genetis and Twins: an Autism Link

    A study done by Rutter and Folstein, 1997, researched the genese between 21 pairs of Digozygotic twins and Monozygotic twins. The research found that there is a genetic influence.
  • Andrew Wakefield and the MMR Vaccine Scare

    Dr. Wakefield published a paper that suggested a link between the mumps measles rubella vaccine and Autism. This paper fled to the media and a national scare on getting children vaccinated arose.
  • Wakefiled and Faulty Research

    Brian Deer wrote about the investigation on Wakefield and his research on the MMR vaccine. The article he wrote found many inaccurate information, controversy, and ethical violations within the study. Wakefield had his licensed to practice revoked.
  • Electroconvulsive Therapy to Treat Autism

    Electroconvulsive therpay was used experimentally to help treat individuals with Autism. The study conducted by Watchell, 2009, depicts that the child used for this study had a positive outcome from using this method of therapy.
  • DSM V-Changes to Autism Spectrum Disorder

    The Diagnostic and Statistical Mannual of Mental Disorder changed there Autism Spectrum Disorder umbrella and took out the other neurodevelopmental conditions. Autism is now tiered to three levels--Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3.