The most recent Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-V), the definitive guide used by healthcare professionals to diagnose mental disorders, defines autism as “persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts.”
Since the early 1970s April has been designated National Autism Awareness Month, according to the national grassroots organization, the Autism Society. Every April individuals purchase and display the well-known puzzle piece merchandise to help support this cause and spread awareness. While Autism Awareness Month has been in effect for 40 some odd years, the documented history of autism has spanned well over a century.
In 1911, Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler coined the term ‘autism’ from the Greek word autos–meaning “self.” He used the term to describe symptoms of schizophrenia which would contribute to the misleading association of autism with schizophrenia for decades, according to the American Psychiatric Association (APA). In the early 1940s there were two pediatric professionals that began working with autistic children. American child psychiatrist Leo Kanner and an Austrian pediatrician named Hans Asperger.
While both described individuals with impairments in eating habits, social interaction, difficulty adjusting to change and oversensitivity to certain stimuli, Kanner’s patients struggled with verbal skills while Asperger reported that his patients were very articulate. Kanner hypothesized that the root cause of autism was due to the frigid treatment that children received from their mothers. This destructive idea was reinforced in 1967 by a self-educated psychoanalyst named Bruno Bettelheim. In his book “The Empty Fortress,” he described this idea that would later be dubbed the ‘Refrigerator Mother Theory.’ Beginning with Kanner’s hypothesis in the 1940s, along with the supposed association between autism and schizophrenia, children suffering from autism were often viewed as a source of shame and were sent away to institutions.
After this false assumption was generally accepted for decades, the 1970s brought forth improved research. Psychologists Lorna Wing and Judith Gould set out to determine the actual prevalence of autism. Before their groundbreaking research, it was believed that autism occurred very rarely. Wing and Gould’s research revealed that autism was more prevalent than originally thought and that symptoms of autism existed on a spectrum–a wide range of minimal to severe.
In the 1980s and 1990s, with the expansion of the spectrum to accommodate all degrees of symptoms and the release of the movie “Rain Man,” awareness of this disorder grew. As more children were being correctly diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), awareness and funding has grown globally over the last two decades.
Blackburn chemistry professor Jim Pickett reported that he has a family member who is severely affected by autism, and stated, “It affects the whole family [especially] when it’s so profound.” In regard to awareness Pickett said, “I’m glad to see that there are more avenues for help.”
Today, one in 68 children are diagnosed with ASD, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and many organizations have set out to gain funding to help illuminate the cause of this once greatly misunderstood disorder. To help support research and awareness, visit autismspeaks.org or projectautism.org to donate or get involved.