A Brief History of Autism

We've dealt with autism for a little while now, and I've got to admit I've been quite curious how autism was identified. What I've found is that before 1943 if a child that exhibited ASD symptoms, (s)he was generally diagnosed with childhood schizophrenia and put into an asylum. They were thought to be mentally ill, incapable of speech and unable to learn or function in the outside world. Case # 1, known as autism's first child, diagnosed with autism was a boy named simply Donald T. He was treated by Leo Kanner, who treated others and was 1st to write on the subject (in the U.S.) of autism. He published his paper on autism in 1943.

Dr. Leo KannerDonald T.Dr. Hans Asperger Dr. Israel Kolvin

Around the same time in Germany, Dr. Hans Asperger was finding similar condition - which is called "Asperger's Syndrome" today.  The differences between childhood schizophrenia and autism remained unclear until 1972, when Dr. Israel Kolvin published a paper actually defining autism.

http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/history-of-autism

Some of the first treatments for autism were, well barbaric. During the 1960's and 70's the focus for treating autism was through medications (such as LSD), electric shock and other behavior change techniques (which was pain and punishment).

Dr. Ivar Lovaas

In the 1960's a psychologist named Ivar Lovaas at UCLA theorized that if children with autism were rewarded for a particular behavior, they would likely repeat the behavior. This went on to become ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) and began being used more and more through the 1980's and 90's. Today much of ABA remains the same as when it was developed, only it has been "fine-tuned". ABA, along with speech therapy have helped many diagnosed with ASD. Other therapies can and have been added for people on the spectrum when the need arises.

http://ezinearticles.com/?The-History-of-Applied-Behavior-Analysis&id=2102959

We are so grateful for ABA, speech and the medicines which help our boys function a little better every day. We have had to learn the proper balances for our boys through a lot of guidance and also trial and error. We waited for a long, long time before adding any medications. We tried the diet and the vitamins. We hoped that the ABA would help with some of the other issues, but we finally had to give in and use medication. Our hope is that some day they won't need it, but until then we will continue to do our best to help them move forward. Our next battle is with OT, the assessment for Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD).

I hope I haven't bored you too much. I was curious, and I thought maybe someone else might be as well.

From a mother's heart - Thank God for the pioneers in defining and treating what is now a disorder that affects as many as 1 in 50 children.