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.
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.
Kanner's 1943 paper, “Autistic Disturbances of Affective Contact,” drew almost immediate attention. Within a year, he renamed the condition these children shared, dubbing it 'early infantile autism,' which soon became known as 'autism' or 'Kanner's syndrome.
"They did not fully know about autism in the 1970s and 1980s, especially in relation to the way it manifests in girls," she said.
There are other names for autism used by some people, such as: autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is the medical name for autism. Asperger's (or Asperger syndrome) is used by some people to describe autistic people with average or above average intelligence.
“On the spectrum/autism spectrum” is also acceptable. Some people with autism may call themselves and others an “autie” or an “aspie”, referring to asperger's syndrome.
In 1980, autism diagnosis rates were approximately four in 10,000. In the 90s, that number jumped to one in 2,500, while later in the decade one in 1,000 children were diagnosed.
In the 1970s, there was an increased infatuation with finding out who was to blame for children having autism. Two studies in particular, one in 1974 and another in 1977, point to the fact that this decade––the 1970s––was especially interested in finding different parties and places to blame for autism.
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.
The symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome are now included in a condition called Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). ASD is now the name used for a wide range of autism-like disorders. Some providers may still use the term Asperger's Syndrome, but others will say “ASD – without intellectual or language impairment.”
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.
In 2015, the DSM-5 officially folded Asperger Syndrome into the umbrella diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The organization felt it was appropriate to alter its name at that time to the “Asperger/Autism Network” to reflect this development and also to recognize its reach had expanded beyond New England.
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).
In the 1990s, behavioural interventions for autism were dominated by applied behaviour analysis (ABA), an approach to therapy that helps children learn new skills.
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.
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.
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.
Autism was widely thought to be a behavioral disorder until the late 1970's, and so treatments up until that point attempted to correct behavior. Behavior therapies included aversive punishment, in which a child is punished for bad behavior.
Does The Father Or Mother Carry The Autism Gene? Autism was always thought to have a maternal inheritance component, however, research suggests that the rarer variants associated with the disorder are usually inherited from the father.
As of 2013, Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism are no longer terms used by the American Psychological Association, and have instead both been merged into autism spectrum disorder (ASD). As of 2021, the World Health Organization also retired the terms and merged them into autism spectrum disorder.
Individuals who would have been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome prior to 2013, now receive a diagnosis of “Autism Spectrum Disorder, Level 1, Without Accompanying Intellectual or Language Impairment.” What are some signs and traits of high-functioning ASD?
It is now part of a broader category called autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This group of related disorders shares some symptoms. Even so, lots of people still use the term Asperger's. The condition is what doctors call a "high-functioning" type of ASD.