Autism (autism spectrum disorder) affects millions of children worldwide in all racial, national and socio -economic groups.
The condition has significant challenges for parents, who often face limited access to care, lack of therapeutic choices and the stigma associated with autism.
But what is the historical evolution of our perception of autism?
Paul
In the early 1900s, Swiss psychiatrist Paul Egen Bller conducted a survey on schizophrenia, describing for the first time in his lecture in Berlin in 1908.
He published his findings in 1911, where he defined the characteristics associated with autism as “removal from reality” and described autism as a symptom of childhood schizophrenia.
At that time children with autism were usually diagnosed with childhood psychosis or childhood schizophrenia.
Guns Suhareva
Born in the Russian Empire in the late 19th century, pediatric psychiatrist Gun Souhareva described autism two decades before psychologists who were widely recognized for his “discovery”.
Her studies in 1925 described the features in a more compassionate and understanding way, focusing on the success of the children who took care of the Sanatorium School in Kiev, where she worked as a psychologist.
Her description of children focuses on their interests and talents, such as
- A 12 -year -old who learned on his own to read at the age of 5. He preferred the companionship of adults to his peers and was physically clumsy.
- A child who was a talented violinist but had difficulty reading social implications.
- A child who had talent in mathematics but could not read or recognize faces.
Some of the features she described are aligned with the modern diagnostic criteria we have today, but her studies were ignored by the western world medical community.
In fact, her findings were not translated into English until 1996.
Leo Kanner
Born in Ukraine in 1894, Leo Kanner migrated to the United States in 1924, where he began his pediatric and psychiatric studies.
In 1938 he began working to explain how autism was not a forerunner of schizophrenia, as they believed until then.
He studied a group of eleven children to develop the diagnosis of “Kanner Syndrome”, which formed the basis for autistic spectrum disorder.
He published his findings in 1943 and his work had impressive similarities to Suhareva’s studies.
The children observed by Kanner were “happier when they were alone” and had repetitive behaviors, where actions were “executed in the same way they were initially executed.”
He argued that the behavior of children was the result of an anxiety and obsessive desire for uniformity.
Hans Asperger
Hans Asperger was born in 1906 in Vienna, Austria and worked as a child psychologist during World War II.
Historically, Asperger was used as a diagnosis for people with autism who had no learning difficulties.
In 1944, Hans Asperger observed children who had difficulty making friendships and following social suggestions, had special interests and motor skills under average.
As the work was published during World War II in Germany, it was not widely recognized until it was translated into English in the late 1980s.
Asperger is no longer a formal diagnostic term since 2013, partly because of the dispute over Asperger participated in the Nazi Child Euthanasia Program.
1980s and 1990s
Until the 1980s and 90s, the diagnostic criteria for autism became much more standardized, with the introduction of diagnostic frameworks such as diagnostic and statistical manuals of mental disorders and international classification of diseases.
The diagnostic criteria of the 1980s described the basic characteristics of autism as follows:
- Disorder in social interaction, lack of response to others, limited or absent use of non -verbal communication and relationship difficulties.
- Delayed or divergent linguistic development and lack of spontaneous language.
- Limited and repetitive behaviors, such as repetitive movements, insistence on uniformity and closely and intense attachment to interests.
- Presented before the age of 30 months.
How was Autism treated in the past?
As our understanding of autism has improved in the last century, treatment has also improved.
- Prior to 1900, doctors and psychologists conducted few studies on autism and many children who had non -formal social behaviors were often led to institutions, where they had no support adapted to their needs.
- In the 1960s and 70s, the treatment focused on eliminating “problematic” behaviors. This approach focuses more on “compliance” which was often harmful, leading to stress and trauma.
- During the 1980s, autism was still mainly considered childhood disorder, and adults with autism were often not recognized as individuals in the spectrum. Although there were reports of adults with autism, diagnosis and support were limited.
In the early 1990s, evidence began to appear that adults with autism were often undiagnosed and that they had many unknown needs and challenges.
Some adults with autism were diagnosed with other psychiatric or developmental disorders, which delayed the correct diagnosis.
The stigma of autism
The stigma surrounding autism has evolved significantly over time.
Today, it has been established that autism is caused by different brain growth there is less focus on treatment, as we understand that it is not a disease.
Experts are now focusing on providing the support people they need for a better quality of life.
However, the challenges remain, including discrimination in education, employment and the social environment.
While progress has been made, continuous efforts are needed to reduce stigma and promote the integration of people with autism.
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