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Argumentative Essay: The Early History Of Autism

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Over the years autism has changed tremendously. According to an article titled “History of Autism” the term autism was first coined by Eugen Bleuler from the Greek word “autos” meaning self and was originally referred to as “an escape from reality.” In its early history autism was first said to be caused by parents who were rigid, cold, detached and perfectionist by Dr. Leo Kanner. However, in the 1960’s scientific methods were introduced into how autism was studied. Furthermore in 1964 Dr. Bernard Rimland decided to challenge previous theories and the first epidemiological study was conducted. Dr. Rimland screened 78,000 children between the ages of 8 and 10 for indications of autism; the results found that 4.5 in 10,000 children had this syndrome with higher incidences in males. In 1968 and 1971 comparative studies were conducted that validated the syndrome and its features by Dr. Michael Rutter to include that behavioral approaches were the best teaching methods for these children. …show more content…

By 1994 the DSM-IV was released and for the first time clinicians input on was introduced to the manual this as a result it became a spectrum. The spectrum included autistic disorder, Rett disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, Asperger’s disorder and pervasive developmental disorder. Through the use of research it lead to reintroduction of age onset for autism, it was confirmed through research that onset of specific symptoms were demonstrated by 18

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