The History of Autism
Autism is a disorder which affects many people’s lives. It is a relatively new diagnosis for a disorder with such pervasive effects, though its newness is only revealed when considering medicine in a historical way; autism itself is not a new disorder.
Known as pervasive developmental disorders, or autism spectrum disorders, autism, Asperger syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, Rett syndrome, and PDD-NOS (or atypical autism) affects 1 in 110 children, or 1 in 70 boys. Males are at a three to four times greater risk than females. With regard to other childhood conditions, the rate of autism is lower than the rate of mental retardation, though higher than the rate for cerebral palsy, hearing loss, and vision impairment.
The word "autism" can trace its roots back to the Greek word "autos," meaning "self." Autism is thus named because it describes a spectrum of conditions in which a person experiences difficulties with social interaction and difficulties with communication, and in this way is isolated and often by one’s self.
Classic Autism
The term autism was introduced in 1943 by Dr. Leo Kanner of the Johns Hopkins Hospital. In a study he was conducting with eleven children in the 1940s, Dr. Kanner noticed that the children demonstrated extreme aloofness and an indifference to other people both emotionally and physically. The children generally did not seek out eye contact and experienced language deficits which seemed to be caused by a lack of desire to communicate. They reacted in unusual ways to their environment and did not engage in make-believe or imaginative games.
Dr. Kanner labeled the children’s disorder as early infantile autism. As the children aged and their disorder persisted and grew with them, the term early infantile autism eventually became known as classical autism.
Asperger Syndrome
In 1944 the Austrian Dr. Hans Asperger discovered a milder form of early infantile autism, which was eventually termed Asperger Syndrome. Asperger discovered the diagnosis of while studying four children who had trouble interacting in social situations, lacked nonverbal communication skills, appeared to lack empathy, and were physically clumsy.
Dr. Asperger called the condition "autistic psychopathy" and noted it as being marked by social isolation (like autism). It became known as Asperger syndrome in 1981 when Lorna Wing published several case studies and Dr. Asperger’s work was translated to English. Asperger syndrome is very similar to high-functioning classical autism.
