AUTISM THROUGH THE AGES by Special Education 580

1943

SPED580 — 2014-09-20 21:04:22 UTC

Leo Kanner publishes an article titled "Autistic Disturbances of Affective Contact" describing 11 children, some whom had been diagnosed with MR or Schizophrenia. His paper begins to distinguish these children's symptoms and behaviors from their supposed diagnoses and introduces the theory of a new diagnosis, to be called "early infantile autism". But because Bleuler's term "autistic" was connected with a common descriptor of Schizophrenic patients (because both showed a tendency towards an "absorption with the inner world"), it continued the popular assumption that "early infantile autism" was actually just a childhood form of Schizophrenia.

From his work, Kanner developed a list of Essential Common Characteristics, of which the core is still used today--"the inability to relate themselves in the ordinary way to people and situations" (p. 4) Also included were "communication oddities and preference for restricted and repetitive behaviors"

Because of his mention of aloofness as one of the characteristics at the time, the term "Kanner's Autism", or "Classical Autism" is now used as a common way of expressing that a child has the "aloof nature that Kanner described" (p. 5).

1978: Michael Rutter's Diagnostic Criteria

SPED580 — 2014-09-22 02:19:41 UTC

Michael Rutter proposes a set of diagnostic criteria that synthesized Kanner’s work with the knowledge that had been gained in the intervening twenty years.

(1) onset by two and a half years of age
(2) impaired and distinctive social development;
(3) impaired and distinctive communication
(4) unusual behaviors including, but not limited to, re-sistance to change, unusual responses to the environment, and motor manner-ism

1980 DSM III & The PDDs:

SPED580 — 2014-09-22 02:24:51 UTC

DSM III published and officially recognizes for the first time autistic disorder under the category of PDDs.
The PDDs category described childhood conditions that shared, to varying degrees, "distortions in the development of multiple basic psychological functions that are involved in the development of social skills and language."
The five diagnostic labels to choose from:
1. Infantile autism
2. full syndrome
3. residual autism
4. childhood onset perverse developmental disorder (COPDD)
5.atypical pervasive developmental disorder

1909

SPED580 — 2014-09-22 03:43:29 UTC

Eugen Bleuler, a Swiss psychiatrist introduces concept of "autistic", deriving from the Greek word "autos", meaning "self". The term was originally used to describe the "marked withdrawal schizophrenic patients demonstrate when they retreat into a self-contained existence filled with delusions and hallucinations" (p. 3).

1971

SPED580 — 2014-09-22 04:16:04 UTC

Kanner publishes a thirty year follow up of his original eleven children.

1944

SPED580 — 2014-09-22 04:25:37 UTC

Hans Asperger publishes a paper in German describing four boys with social oddities. This introduces the idea that there may be a unique disorder separate from Kanner's autism.

1981:

SPED580 — 2014-09-22 04:33:03 UTC

Lorna Wing, British psychologist and mother of an autistic child, publishes "Asperger Syndrome: A Clinical Account" based on Asperger's translated work. (p. 8) Additionally Wing suggested the syndrome be named after Hans Asperger. AS did not make the DSM under its own category until DSM-IV was published in 1994

1956: Kanner's First Diagnostic System

SPED580 — 2014-09-22 04:36:54 UTC

Dr. Kanner and Dr. Eisenberg develop first set of criteria to be used by professionals to diagnose autism. Proposed Criteria:

1. A profound lack of affective contact with other people

2. An anxiously obsessive desire for the preservation of sameness

3. A fascination for objects, handled with skill in fine motor movements

4. Mutism, or a kind of language that does not seem intended to serve interpersonal communication

5. The retention of an intelligent and pensive physiognomy (facial appearance), and good cognitive potential manifested by feats of memory or skill on performance tests

Dr. Robert Spitzer

SPED580 — 2014-09-22 04:50:21 UTC

Advocated for revisions of the DSM III. He wanted to develop a classification system that facilitates clear communication amongst clinicians, use the DSM as a framework for research to evolve the field as a science, and move towards evidence based practice. Validity and reliability of the diagnostic criteria are emphasized.

SPED580 — 2014-09-22 06:16:13 UTC

DSM II

SPED580 — 2014-09-22 21:48:50 UTC

DSM-II published in 1968 contained no diagnosis of Autism. Instead it listed a condition called Childhood Schizophrenia. Lacking a solidly defined category many individuals with autism were given the wrong diagnosis.

DSM-IV

SPED580 — 2014-09-22 21:59:30 UTC

The 1994 DSM changed the standards used to diagnose autism in order to facilitate more accurate diagnosis in the field.

This is also the first time where AS (Asperger's Disorder) is added to the DSM. There still remained controversy over its validity as a category for diagnosis. Rett's Disorder and childhood distintegrative disorder (CDD) are also added.

1987 PDD-NOS

SPED580 — 2014-09-22 23:08:20 UTC

DSM III is revised and autism categories are reshuffled---COPDD and atypical pervasive developmental disorder are collapsed into one category, that of PDD-NOS (not otherwise specified).

1992

SPED580 — 2014-09-22 23:12:33 UTC

Asperger's Disorder, AS is added to ICD-10.

DSM V

SPED580 — 2014-09-23 00:53:24 UTC

Published in 2013, includes Autism Spectrum Disorder. "Severity is based on social communication impairments and restricted repetitive patterns of behavior".

Also includes Social Communication Disorder, a related diagnosis.