The History of Autism

Autism as defined by the Autism society of America is a neurological disorder. People who have Autism have a triad of impairments. This involves impairment of social interaction, impairment of communication and impairment of imagination.

Teaching and parenting of children with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can be challenging, with each child having personal individual requirements. In autism the three areas of social interaction, communication and imagination develop differently in some or several areas compared to neuro-typical individuals. ASD conditions can be labelled as Asperger Syndrome (AS) when the impairment is lesser, whereas Autism is the term used when the impairment is greater in relation to the neuro-typical. Autism was first described in 1943 by Leo Kanner. He was the first person to categorise a group of children, describing their condition as “Early infantile autism”.

Kanner was not the first account of this condition as in later years Uta Frith found individual historical case examples in earlier period accounts, novels and clinical descriptions. These show that autism has been around for a long time, nevertheless it was Kanner who first systematically described the disorder and pointed out the similarities in dysfunction in a group of children, rather than simply reporting on individual cases.

In 1944 Hans Asperger separately described a group of individuals as having impairment and named the condition after himself; however this was merely a subset of ASD used today to describe individuals exhibiting the triad of impairment. Asperger Syndrome (AS) was categorised as a condition where the individuals were high functioning on the autistic range – meaning that they had only some impairment. Merely slight impairment nevertheless can be subtle but still cause havoc for the person and the people around them; as relationships are built upon communication and empathy, which are areas of weakness for people who have the condition of ASD or AS.

The work of Asperger was translated into English in the 1990’s. Lorna Wing brought together the works of Kanner and Asperger and began the dialogue of what is generally regarded as Autism today. The science of autism is approximately 50 years old.

Impairment in each of the triad areas differs between individuals and therefore causes slightly different issues for those individuals. There are difficulties in defining autism as a syndrome because the developmental problems that often accompany it. Kanner originally described children who have an ASD as being intelligent and that the autism created delays, however it is now recognised that

“The more severe the general learning difficulties the more likely the individual is to have autism, although it becomes increasingly difficult to separate out the effects of autism from the effects of severe retardation” (Jordan & Powell 1995).

I am a teacher of children who have been diagnosed with an ASD and who also have severe learning difficulties (SLD), with additional medical conditions such as ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), Fragile X or Downs’ Syndrome. Some children in my experience are not aware that they have these conditions or aware that others with or conversely without autism behave differently. Some seem not to require friendships as neuro-typical people would describe, however they are extremely happy in their own worlds albeit aggressive at times. They tend to live from moment to moment and only require interaction as a means to fulfilling their transitory personal needs such as food.

Executive function deficit is common as a result of the triad of impairment; as difficulty in planning, organising tasks, impulsivity and inability to disengage attention impacts on how they function in regards to day to day tasks. Difficulty in switching tasks, changes in routine, managing change and not being able to view the “global picture” of an event; instead focussing upon the irrelevant and minor details has a confusing impact for the autistic individual.