Autism was originally described as a form of childhood schizophrenia and the result of cold parenting, then as a set of related developmental disorders, and finally as a
The concept of autism was coined in 1911 by the German psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler to describe a symptom of the most severe cases of schizophrenia, a concept he had also created.
Early descriptions of autistic symptoms
In 1877, British doctor John Down used the term developmental retardation to describe conditions including what would be considered autism today. Also in 1877, German doctor Adolf Kussmaul defined the condition aphasia voluntaria - when people choose not to speak.
Kanner syndrome
The specific pattern of 'abnormal behaviour' first described by Leo Kanner is also known as 'early infantile autism'. Kanner made no estimate of the possible numbers of people with this condition but he thought that it was rare (Kanner, 1943).
The label 'psychotic' was soon replaced by 'autistic. ' But from the start it meant that specialists recognized that some children with disabilities were different from others. This was not immediately obvious, as they all had more or less severe intellectual impairments.
Advances in diagnostic capabilities and greater understanding and awareness of autism spectrum disorder seem to be largely driving the increase, the Rutgers researchers said. But there's probably more to the story: Genetic factors, and perhaps some environmental ones, too, might also be contributing to the trend.
In 1980, "infantile autism" was added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and separated from childhood schizophrenia. By the late 1980s, the term in the DSM was changed to autism disorder and included a checklist of symptoms for diagnosing autism.
A growing understanding of autism
In 1989, the first children in South Australia to be recognised as having Asperger syndrome were diagnosed by Autism SA.
1 in 100 children are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder as of 2021. Autism prevalence has increased 178% since 2000. The country with the highest rate of diagnosed autism in the world is Qatar, and the country with the lowest rate is France.
The reason behind the reclassification of Asperger's syndrome was its similarity to autism, and the fact that it was distinguished from the latter based simply on a lack of language and cognitive delay — which, interestingly, isn't something every individual on the spectrum experiences.
Inheritance. ASD has a tendency to run in families, but the inheritance pattern is usually unknown. People with gene changes associated with ASD generally inherit an increased risk of developing the condition, rather than the condition itself.
Experts now believe that humans have had autism for millenia. But the history of autism is one of misunderstanding, with profound and often negative impacts on an untold number of lives. The first written description of a person with autism appeared circa 1800.
It's something you're born with. Signs of autism might be noticed when you're very young, or not until you're older. If you're autistic, you're autistic your whole life. Autism is not a medical condition with treatments or a "cure".
A common question after an autism diagnosis is what is the cause of autism. We know that there's no one cause of autism. Research suggests that autism develops from a combination of genetic and nongenetic, or environmental, influences. These influences appear to increase the risk that a child will develop autism.
This image provided by WLBV-TV shows Donald Triplett, the Mississippi man known worldwide as "Case 1," the first person to be diagnosed with autism. Triplett died on Thursday at age 89. FOREST, Miss.
Donald Triplett, who was the first person to ever be diagnosed with autism, has died at the age of 89. Triplett was identified as “case 1” in a 1943 paper, which was the first to explore the idea of autism.
It is estimated that 1 in 100 people in Australia have Autism. In 2018 there were 205,200 Australians with Autism, a 25.1% increase from the 164,000 in 2015 (Source: ABS SDAC 2018– Autism in Australia). This means that if you have Autism you are not alone.
The country with the highest rate of diagnosed autism in the world is Qatar, with about 1 in 66 people being diagnosed. About 151 people per 10,000 in Qatar are diagnosed with autism, followed by 112 people per 10,000 in the United Arab Emirates.
ASD occurs in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. It is more than 4 times more common among boys than among girls.
Increased availability of services.
Over the years, services for autism have become more readily available. The availability of services has encouraged more people to seek a diagnosis in order to gain access to these services.
It is a disability that is considered to be on a spectrum – meaning no two individuals with ASD are alike and there is a range of severity and characteristics displayed by each person with an ASD diagnosis.
Centrelink. Centrelink, managed by the Australian Government Department of Human Services, delivers a range of payments for children or adults with autism, or caring for people with autism.
ADHD is not on the autism spectrum, but they have some of the same symptoms. And having one of these conditions increases the chances of having the other. Experts have changed the way they think about how autism and ADHD are related.
Can autism skip a generation? Yes, it's possible for autism to skip a generation. This is because the genes that contribute to autism can be passed down from grandparents to grandchildren, even if the parents do not have the condition.
What is the prevalence of autism among children in the United States? In 1997, autism was on the rise and so were people's concerns, yet there were no dedicated efforts to monitor prevalence rates. In 1995, rough estimates suggested that 1 in 500 children were likely to be diagnosed with autism.