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Asperger's Theory Of Infantile Autism

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The term Autism was first used in 1908 as a divisional term for people with schizophrenia who were particularly withdrawn & self-absorbed. In 1943 an American child psychiatrist named Leo Kanner, M.D., published a paper which described 11 children who were highly intelligent, however they displayed "a powerful desire for aloneness", whilst also "an obsessive insistence on persistent sameness”. "Early infantile autism" was the name he later labelled the condition. Asperger’s Syndrome was first highlighted in 1944 by a German scientist named Hans Asperger. He described a "milder" form of autism. In his research the cases he reported were all boys & they were very intelligent, however they had very specific obsessive interests & had trouble with social interactions. …show more content…

He stated that Autism was as a result of mothers not loving their children enough. This was disproved & in 1977 there was research conducted on sets of twins that found that Autism was largely caused by genetics & biological differences in the development of the brain. In 1980, Autism was officially disconnected from childhood schizophrenia, which was a big step & “Infantile Autism for the first time. Even further research was carried out, & in 1987, the term Infantile Autism was replaced by a more extensive definition of "Autism Disorder," & it also included a checklist of criteria for diagnoses. A psychologist from UCLA named Ivar Lovaas, Ph.D. also published the first study showing how intensive behaviour therapy could help children with Autism in 1987, & this gave individuals & their families hope for their

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