Autism and Its Components 1943 – A Complex Neurological Disorder

“He walked around smiling, making stereotyped finger movements. When brought into a room, he immediately went towards objects without paying attention to people.” 

These descriptions appear in Austrian psychiatrist Leo Kanner's 1943 paper “Autistic Disturbances of Affective Contact”, a major turning point in the history of autism research. The paper also contains the first use, in its modern sense, of the term autism. Most of the features Kanner described in 11 children are still regarded as components of the autism spectrum.

Autism is a behavioural disorder detectable before age three, characterised by impaired social interaction and communication skills. The autism spectrum includes many types, including Asperger's syndrome, about which German paediatrician Hans Asperger wrote in 1944 while describing similar behaviours. Asperger’s syndrome resembles classical autism, but children with Asperger's generally have better language and cognitive skills.

The number of people diagnosed with autism has risen dramatically since the 1980s, partly due to changing diagnostic practices and growing public interest. Children with autism often show repetitive behaviours, restricted interests and atypical eating behaviours. 

Unfortunately, Austrian-born child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim wrongly promoted the idea that autism was caused by cold, unsupportive parents (particularly mothers, whom he called “refrigerator mothers”). Today we know that autism is a complex neurological disorder with a strong genetic basis and may involve disturbances in the timing of brain-system development.

Intensive behavioural therapy early in life may help some children with autism develop skills for coping and interacting. Some individuals cannot communicate at all, while a small percentage may have extraordinary abilities in memory, art or calculation. This is called “savant syndrome”. According to statistics, one in ten people with autism has such exceptional abilities to varying degrees.

Description of the article image: People with autism sometimes feel a need to stack or arrange objects. As children, for example, they may play for hours lining up toy cars in particular patterns.

Historical figures mentioned in the article: Leo Kanner (1894–1981), Bruno Bettelheim (1903–1990), Hans Asperger (1906–1980)

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