23/09/2025
Autism is getting a lot of attention at the moment.
Perhaps not for the right reasons, misinformation can be very dangerous and lead to upset & anxiety for the autistic community.
The history of autism began with Eugen Bleuler coining the term "autism" in 1911 to describe a symptom of schizophrenia.
Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger described distinct conditions in the 1940s, which are now considered precursors to the modern understanding of autism.
The condition became an official diagnosis in the DSM-III (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) in 1980 and evolved into Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the DSM-5 in 2013 to encompass its wide range of characteristics.
Today, autism is understood as a spectrum of developmental conditions with a growing understanding in fields such as genetics and neurology.
Stigma and Institutions:
Early views sometimes led to families feeling shame and blame, with many autistic children being placed in institutions.
Neurodiversity:
The modern concept of neurodiversity seeks to move away from viewing autism as a disorder or disease, instead recognising it as a different, natural variation in human brain function.
