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Autism is described as a condtion
Leo Kanner describes autism as a distinct condition in his paper 'Autistic disturbances of affective contact'. -
Asperger Syndrome is recognized
Austrian paediatrician Hans Asperger describes a condition later known as 'Asperger syndrome'. -
First Meeting of Founding Parents
The group met at the home of Mrs Edna O'Driscoll in north London. At the meeting, the decision was taken to form a charity to help support people affected by autism. It would be the first charity of its kind. Initially called 'The Society for Psychotic Children', the group soon opted for the more palatable 'The Society for Autistic Children', because of the negative associations of the word 'psychotic.' -
First NAS Logo Developed
The minutes of the Executive Meeting of 14 February 1963 read: "The Committee decided that the symbol of the Society should be the puzzle, as this did not look like any other commercial or charitable one as far as they could discover." Helen Allison wrote that "the puzzle piece is so effective because it tells us something about autism: our children are handicapped by a puzzling condition; this isolates them from normal human contact and therefore they do not 'fit in'. -
Sybil Elgar School Opens
Three years earlier, a teacher called Sybil Elgar was asked by some of the founding parents of the NAS to teach their children. Then, many children with autism didn’t receive a formal education. They were considered ‘un-educable’ and were excluded from the education system. Sybil was running a small nursery school for children with learning difficulties and developmental disabilities in the basement of her home in St. John's Wood and agreed to take on these new children. -
Helen Allison School Opens
In 1967 Helen Allison approached Wendy Landman, a woman who had been teaching a number of children with autism on an individual basis. Assisted by Sheila Skeffington, a mother of a boy with autism, the Helen Allison School in Gravesend was opened in 1968. Since it opened in 1968, 155 students have attended Helen Allison School. -
Somerset Court Opens
By the mid-1970s, the children at Sybil Elgar School were reaching school-leaving age and some of them would need further support. Autism is, after all, a lifelong condition – children with autism grow up to be adults with autism. In 1974, the NAS therefore opened Somerset Court to provide residential care and continued educational support and training to adults with autism. -
Genetic Link to Autism Established
The study looked at 21 pairs of British twins (11 pairs of identical twins and 10 pairs of non-identical twins) where at least one of the twins was diagnosed as having autism. In the non-identical pairs of twins, none of the co-twins were diagnosed with autism, whereas in the identical twins, four were diagnosed with autism. -
DSM 3 Recognizes Autism Spectrum
Published by the American Psychiatric Association, the DSM is used in the USA as a system to classify, describe and diagnose mental disorders. -
Lancet Publishes Wakefield Research
The research, led by Andrew Wakefield, and the extensive media coverage it received, are blamed for the sharp decline in the number of children receiving the MMR vaccine. Subsequent studies have found no link between the MMR vaccine and autism or bowel disease -
Autism and Education Good Practice Published
The document aimed to help schools, education services and local authorities in supporting children with autism. -
World Autism Awareness Day Announced
The document aimed to help schools, education services and local authorities in supporting children with autism. -
Autism Act Passed
n late 2008 Cheryl Gillan MP agreed to take forward a private member's bill on autism in Parliament. In November 2009 the Bill received Royal Assent and became the Autism Act 2009. -
England Adult Autism Strategy Published
The Government publishes its plan to make sure that adults with autism get the help that they need, committed to in the Autism Act 2009.
