History of Autism
Autism History What does it mean when a person has an autistic disorder? According to the book, Autism: A Reappraisal of Concepts and Treatments, it states that autism is characterized by peculiar emotional and intellectual detachment from other people and the common human world. ... The term “autism” was first mentioned by Blueler in 1911 to describe individuals with schizophrenia who had the loss of contact with reality (Blueler, 1911). ... In 1978, McAdoo and DeMeyer conducted the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) to parents with children whom had autism. ... Parents of children with autism and parents of children without disabilities reported similar levels of martial satisfaction and family cohesion (Webster et al. ... Bernard Rimland and Eric Schopler were among the first researchers to argue against the theory that parents were responsible for their children’s autism. ... Since autism is a rare disorder, there are only a few number of experts that have the experience of a large number of cases, but experience always matter. ... At this stage, the diagnosticians will consider autism only as an hypothesis to be checked systematically. They will administer psychological tests and construct a history of the course of the disorder from the beginning (Rutter and Schopler 59). In this way, autism can be diagnosed reliably. ... This worries lay people who may wrongly jump to conclusion that it is impossible to diagnosis Autism, and that different authorities are talking about different conditions when they talk about autistic children (Frith 17). ... Parents of children with autism often report that they are concerned about their child’s development prior to one year of age and express the concern to their pediatrician by eighteen months of age. However, on average, a diagnosis of autism is not given until four years of age (Leonard and Swedo 240). Ninety-one percent of the children who later received a diagnosis of autism could be correctly diagnosed one year of age based on their behavior (Koplewicz 235). Self-stimulatory behaviors did not differentiate between autistic and normally developing behaviors including the need for routine and sameness may emerge later in the course of autism and may be apparent in older children compared to younger ones (Koplewicz 235). Therefore, symptoms of autism are present from the first year of life, and early behaviors seem to be the best indicators of a later diagnosis of autistic disorder. ... With the advent of better diagnostic instruments and a better ability to recognize autism within the first two years of life, there will be a greater demand for interventions designed for toddlers and preschoolers (Maurice et al. ... CAUSE The cause of autism still today remains a mystery and there are still continued debate about when symptoms are considered to be the core to define the disorder. ... This conclusion between early developing abilities has made it difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain whether autism results from a basic impairment in any one specific area. It is likely that there is non-single primary deficit in autism, but rather a group of deficits affecting social, affective, linguistic, and cognitive development (Maurice et al. ... Autism has traditionally been considered to be the primary deficit in socioemotional development that prevents children from interaction normally with others. ... It was assumed that children with autism fail to bond with their parents. ... Empirical evidence suggests that children with autism do show differential responses to their caregivers compared to unfamiliar adults (Frith 90). Sigman and her colleagues found that pre-school age children with autism directed more social behaviors and proximity seeking toward their caregiver than to strangers following brief separation (Sigman). ... Findings as shown that autism does not result from a global impairment in the ability to form attachments but may result from a specific impairment in the ability to understand and to respond to social information.