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Beginning of the name Autism
Autism is first used by a doctor named Eugen Bleuler for a condition that he described as "one of the four schizophrenias." Bleuler was a director at a hospital in Zurich, and he believe that there were two schools of thinking, logical and autistic thinking (Feinstein, 2010, p. 5) -
Case of the psychotic child
Dr. Lightnter Witmer wrote a case study about a child who he described as having "no desires expect to be left alone" (Feinstein, 2010, p. 5-6). -
Russian Pyschiatrist describes Autism ahead of its time
Dr. Grunya Efimovna Sukhareva published an article in a German journal about six boys, diagnosing them with what she called "schizoid personality disorder of childhood." Her description had major traits of Asperger's syndrome, which would not be defined for several years after this. (Feinstein, 2010, p. 7) -
Autism Definition, the French perspective
Eugene Minkowski introduced the term autism to a French audience in his book, La Schizophrenie. He considered autism to be a lack of contact with reality. Bleuler considered autism to be a symptom of schizophrenia, while Minkowski believed autism caused schizophrenia. He coined the terms rich autism and poor autism at this time, leveling the severity of the condition (Feinstein, 2010, p.6). -
Dr. Howard Potter describes children with schizophrenia as idiots
Dr. Howard Potter writes about children with schizophrenia. He depicted them as "idiots" and had "mental defectives" (Feinstein, 2010, p.7). -
Dr. Hans Asperger discusses autism at a lecture
Dr. Hans Asperger begins discussing autism at a speech he gave at Vienna University Hospital on October 3rd. He uses the term "autistic psychopathy" to describe children with abnormal personalities (Feinstein, 2010, p.10). -
Leo Kanner coins the term autism
In 1943, Leo Kenner published a paper titled "Autistic Disturbances of Effective Contact" after studying a group of boys who were highly intelligent, but preferred to be alone. These children also insisted on sameness. He coined the term autism in writing with this paper. This paper sparked the interest of many, as they became fascinated with autism (Feinstein, 2010, p. 24). -
Dr. Gerhard Bosch presented his first case of "primary autism"
Bosch studied cases similar to Kanner and to Asperger. He studied autism for years to come (Feinstein, 2010, p 37). -
Cold mothering to blame for autism
In his 1957 paper, Leon Eisenberg spoke of the coldness between autistic children and their fathers, continuing the theory, which had recently begun, that detached or cold parenting led to autism (Feinstein, 2010, p. 38). -
Multiple areas of research conducted about autism
In the early 1960s, multiple researchers began studying autism. One of these people was Psychiatrist Michael Rutter, one of the founders of child psychiatry (Feinstein, 2010). -
Creak Committee in the UK sets the start of credentials for diagnosing autism
Creak Committee in the UK sets a criteria aimed at screening for autism. The condition is still seen as a childhood schizophrenia. It is even believed that adults with autism do not exist. (Feinstein, 2010, p. 77) -
Lorna Wing forms the National Society for Autistic Children
Wing was one of the founders of this society, and also someone who believed that autism was more than what people currently believed. This society was originally called the Society for Psychotic Children (Feinstein, 2010, p. 84). -
A School for Autistic Children opens
Elgar visited the hospital and was appalled. She decided to form her own school for disabled students. Parents of the association Lorna Wing created approached her and Elgar agreed to teach a school for autistic children, and it became the first school for autistic kids (Feinstein, 2010, p. 87). -
Bruno Bettleheim blames parents for autism
Bruno Bettleheim wrote a book, entitled The Empty Fortress: Infantile Autism and the Birth of Self." In his book, he blamed parents as the cause for autism. This theory of bad parenting being the cause of autism had been suggested before, and went on for years (Feinstein, 2010, p. 54). -
Dr. Gerhard Bosch's research claims that parents may not be to blame for autism.
Bosch conducts and presents research where he claims that parents may not be to blame. He states that he found no evidence to support this claim (Feinstein, 2010, p.80). -
Lorna Wing publishes "Autistic Children: A guide for parents and professionals."
Wing's book strongly disagrees with Bettelheim's theory that cold mothering and distant parenting is to blame for autism. The book acts as a counter to Bettelheim's theory (Feinstein, 2010, p. 139). -
Michael Rutter publishes "Causes of Infantile Autism: Some considerations from recent research"
This paper assessed and disproved many of the notions and understandings of autism of the time. One of the most significant parts of this paper was the claim that autism had cognitive deficits, as well as social ones (Feinstein, 2010). -
Autism categorized as disorder separate from schizophrenia
Autism is finally recognized as a separate disability in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM III) (Johnson, 2008). -
Lorna Wing publishes a paper introducing Asperger's Syndrome
Wing publishes this paper introducing the term, and suggesting that there is in fact another facet to the autism spectrum (Feinstein, 2010). -
Dr. Margaret Bauman and Dr. Thomas Kemper published a report on a 29 year old autistic man
The report suggested that logical abnormalities occur at a cellular level and paved the way for autism being treated as a biological disorder (Feinstein, 2010, p. 207). -
Asperger's Syndrome is added to DSM
Asperger's is identified in DSM IV as a "progressive developmental disorder" (Johnson, 2008). -
National Alliance for Autism Research and Cure Autism Now are formed
These two nonprofit organizations are formed to engage in research and promote awareness about autism (Johnson, 2008). -
Government concerned that vaccinations are to blame for autism
Government concerns arise that thimerosal, a preservative found in vaccines for kids, causes autism. This is removed from vaccinations to appease concerns (Johnson, 2008). -
The Institute of Medicine finds no evidence to support vaccinations as the cause of autism
This institution finds no credible evidence that autism is caused by vaccinations. This is later confirmed by the CDC and FDA (Johnson 2008). -
Autism Speaks is founded
This is one of the leading organizations in advocacy for autism (Autism Speaks). -
CDC reports autism affects 1 in 150 children.
The increased number reflects better detection, criteria, and public awareness. Earlier numbers claimed autism affected 1 in 500 children (Johnson, 2008).
