- Published: September 8, 2022
- Updated: September 8, 2022
- University / College: University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
- Language: English
- Downloads: 44
History of Autism Spectrum Syndrome: In1908, autism or ASD is a word which was used to characterize a person withschizophrenia that is especially socially disabled and self-absorbed. In1943, Leo Kanner, M. D.
, a child psychiatrist noticed that there are childrenwho displayed high intelligence. But these children were drawn to being aloneand resist change, preferring sameness. Later on, Kanner named the condition “ earlyinfantile autism.” Otherthan Early Infantile Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome was also another type ofautism described by a German scientist, Hans Asperger, in the year 1944. According to Asperger, this type of autism is a milder form. He reported thatthere are children with high intelligence but showed social awkwardness andself-absorbed characteristics.
Thecause of ASD back then were unknown and many claims to how it develop rose. Oneof which was the concept of “ refrigerator mothers” in 1967. Psychologist BrunoBettelheim suggested that if a parent doesn’t show affection to the child as itdevelops, then ASD will be contracted. Psychoanalytic work were done to peoplewith autism which looked only into their life experiences. In1980, Infantile Autism was listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manualof Mental Disorders (DSM). Also, DSM disassociated ASD to childhoodschizophrenia. Lateron, Infantile Autism was replaced with Autism Disorder by DSM in 1987, thedefinition together with the checklist of diagnostic criteria were nowincluded. In the same year, UCLA psychologist Ivar Lovaas, Ph.
D., suggestedthat with intensive behavior therapy, people with autism can grow and developin a way that benefits them. In 1991, the federal government puts autism in a special education category. Offering childrenspecial care and services. From1998-2000, people feared that vaccines like MMR (Measles-Mumps-Rubella) vaccinecan cause autism. But later on, this claim was disproven.
In2013, DSM now includes all types of autism into one umbrella, Autism SpectrumDisorder or ASD.
