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Coining of the word "autism" by Eugen Bleuler.
Greek word "autos", meaning "self" is used to describe a subset of schizophrenic patients where were self-absorbed and withdrawn from their peers. -
Bleuler's student, Eugene Minkowski proposed that autism behaviors were the "essence or 'trouble générateur' (generative disorder)" of schizophrenia.
Minkowski stated that the ability to empathize with others, to become affected and respond appropriately, and to interact with others is imperative to typical development. "Without being ever able to formulate it [vital contact], we know what we have to do; and it is that that makes our activity infinitely malleable and human" http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1489853/ -
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4 or 5 cases for every 10,000 children
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Leo Kanner, M.D. published paper using the clarified term "Early Infantile Autism"
Kanner's work described a case study of 11 students who were highly intelligent, but craved aloneness and obsessed over the lack of change in routine. -
Hans Asperger describes mild form of Autism that encompasses mainly social restrictions
Asperger's group of children were reported to have the verbal and cognitive skills in the above average range compared to their peers, but resembled the description of Kanner's boys in their difficulties with social interactions, adapting to routines, memory, and sensitivity to stimuli. Asperger and Kanner reportedly never discussed their work with each other. Asperger's work was also only published in German at the time. -
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Kanner and Bruno Bettelheim propose the Refrigerator Mom Theory
Kanner's and Bettleheim's work focused on the the hypothesis that highly intellectual parents produced children with autism-like symptoms. This theory attacked the "cold" parenting styles of mothers with higher-educations, resulting in lack of developmental skills in their children. The study in which Kanner's allegations were based was later found to have limited sample sizes and selection methods. Bettleheim was very public with this theory with his books, magazines, and TV appearances. -
Autism Society of America is founded
Bernard Rimland, who's son had Autism, presented the first argument to the Refrigerator Mother Theory, stating that Autism is not related to either parent's child-rearing methods, but rather a biological condition. Rimland's argument was published in his work "Infantile Autism: The Syndrome and its Implications for a Neural Theory of Behavior". The following year, 1965, Rimland founded the Autism Society of America for parents to have a voice against the Refrigerator Mother Theory. -
TEACCH is established at UNC
Eric Schopler started the Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH) with a goal to provide training, education, research and service delivery for children and adults. Schopler, through TEACCH research, helped to show that most children with autism did not have secondary mental disorders, and that parents of children with autism could be effective contributors in the treatment and education of their children. -
Twin studies help determine some causes of Autism
Susan Folstein and Michael Rutter conducted a study same-sexed twin pairs in which one twin showed symptoms related to Autism. Their study's results suggested that infantile brain injuries could be a leading factor in the acquisition of Autism, especially in cases where the children have genetic predisposition for the disorder. -
Wing and Gould's Triad of Impairments
Wing and Gould's theory proposed that all individuals with Autism have a social profile with issues in the following sub-domains: Communication, Interaction with others, and Imagination. -
Autism added to the DSM-III
Autism was added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders- Third Edition (DSM-III) as "infantile autism", distinguishing it's symptoms from the previous diagnosis of being a subarea of schizophrenia. -
"Autistic Disorder" is the new name
"Autistic Disorder" replaced "Infantile Autism" in the newest edition DSM, also adding a more expansive description of symptoms. -
Dr. Lovass forms Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) as a treatment for ASD symptoms
An off-shoot of Behaviorism, ABA is an attempt to understand children's behaviors are present while disregarding constructs such as thoughts and/or feelings. ABA focuses on re-training unwanted behaviors and reinforcing wanted behaviors using rewards, punishment, and alternative behaviors. -
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Prevalence increased to 10 cases in every 10,000 children (1/1000)
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Public Schools begin serving students who have Autism
Federal government decides to make Autism a category for special education inclusion for public schools. -
National Alliance for Autism Research founded
National Alliance for Autism Research was founded by U.S. parents of children with autism. This foundation is devoted to funding biomedical research focusing on autism spectrum disorders. -
Inclusion of new Autism Spectrum Disorders in the DSM-IV
Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified and Asperger's Syndrome are both added to the DSM-IV. These sub-disorders add specificity to some of the behaviors that were associated with Autism previously. -
Bettleheim exposed!
Richard Pollak (journalist and author) published the biography "The Creation of Dr. B.", which investigates Bettelheim's personal agenda, evidence that he falsified his own life story, his credentials, and expertise on autism. The biography also enlightened readers to the fact that Bettleheim abused the children under his care, terrorized parents, and produced his "refrigerator mother" theory without adequate proof. -
Dr. Andrew Wakefield's Article in The Lancet raises concern for vaccine-related Autism
Wakefield's research suggested that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine predisposed to behavioral regression and pervasive developmental disorder in children. This study sparked a movement in which parents around the world started rejecting the MMR vaccine due to the concerns. Wakefield's research was later deemed inadequate due to small-sample sizes and uncontrolled design. Although deemed inadequate, the public presence of his stance continued to deter the MMR distribution. -
FDA, AAP, and Public Health Services all deny Wakefield's claim
All three organizations issue statements that the MMR vaccine is not connected to the diagnosis of Autism, nor any other harmful diagnoses. -
Prevalence of all Pervasive Developmental Disorders estimated to be 1 case in every 143 children
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In the US, estimated 1 case in every 110 children (based on data obtained in 14 states)
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Wakefield's controversial research retracted by The Lancet
The Lancet retracted the Wakefield et al. paper, stating that several elements in the research was incorrect, and different from the findings of the earlier investigation. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3136032/ -
DSM-V Update: No more sub-diagnoses of Autism
The diagnosis is now be referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), disregarding the sub-diagnoses of the past DSV-IV. ASD criteria also changed to only include two areas of behaviors to determine diagnosis (social communication/interaction and restricted and repetitive behavior) rather than the previous three area.