Autism History
September 21st, 2007The first diagnosis was around 1943, but it WAS around before that! It just wasn’t named.
There was an abandoned boy born around 1900 that my great-grandmother took in. From everything I hear about him (hand wringing, no eye-contact, almost robotic voice, fixed watches), I highly suspect he had Asperger’s. I wouldn’t be surprised if both of my uncles were Asperger’s. One was born in 1932 & the other 1928.
In 1887, Dr. Landon Down-after whom Down syndrome was named-described the “self-contained and self-absorbed” child who was not “entertained other than in his own dream-land, and by automatic movements of his fingers or rhythmical movements of his body.” Sound familiar?
Autism has increased, just not as much as some would have you believe. I believe much, but not all, of the autism “epidemic” is just from changes in the diagnosis criterea & improved diagnosis.
I heard one of the ladies on “The View” quote that the rate of austims used to be 1 out of 10,000. Those stats from many years ago which included only classic autism (and not Asperger’s). Even then, many with autism were just diagnosed “retarded” or someother general label. Most experts agree that the actual incidence rate of classic autism 30 years ago was more like 1 out of 1,000.
The current stats (1 out of 150) include Asperger’s & other high-functioning forms of autism which were never diagnosed as autistic until the late 80s. They now compose up to 70% of those with autism. Classic, or “Kanner’s” autism occurs at about a rate of 1 out of 500.
So an accurate comparison would be the old incidence rate of 1 out of 1,000 to the new rate (of classic autism) of 1 out of 500. That means the rates have doubled, but that is a far cry from the rate increasing 60 times over. (and far from an “epidemic”).