For decades, Autism has become somewhat of a mystery that researchers and physicians have tried to solve and understand. Puzzled scientists have long searched for the cause of Autism; is it genetic? Can it be prevented? Is there a gene that can detect it? This ongoing quest is a significant part of autism history.

As we have learned more about Autism Spectrum Disorder, scientists still view the neurodevelopmental disorder that affects one in 44 children as a mystery whose roots are still not fully understood. Today, we know more than ever about ASD and the different levels and severity that come with the diagnosis, but researchers believe that there is still plenty to learn when it comes to solving Autism. This journey through autism history continues to evolve as new discoveries are made.

Autism Timeline History: A Journey To Solving Autism

Most of us know that the history of Autism and the first case isn’t always as straightforward as it is with other conditions and disorders. There are cases of unexplained behavior - which today would be classified as ASD symptoms - from over 100 years ago, and at the time, it was thought to have been a form of schizophrenia in children. This reflects the historical development of ASD and how perceptions have changed over time.

• 1911- Autism was first coined by a Swiss psychiatrist who used it to describe what he believed was a form of schizophrenia in children, marking a significant point in autism timeline history.
• 1943- Syndrome was a term used to describe patterns of abnormal behavior or early infantile Autism by American Psychologist Dr. Leo Kanner.
• 1944- Syndrome was a condition named after German Scientist Hans Asperger after he worked with a group of children who were very intelligent but had a hard time with social interactions. The term was used to describe what we now refer to as a milder form of Autism, contributing to the history of Asperger.
• 1967- Austrian Psychologist Bruno Bettelheim first uses and popularizes the term refrigerator mothers to propose a now-debunked theory that suggested Autism was the result of inattentive and cold mothers.
• 1977- Research conducted on a set of twins found that Autism may be caused by biological and genetic differences in brain development.
• 1980- The Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders (DSM) officially recognizes infantile autism as its own disorder and separates it from the childhood schizophrenia diagnosis.
• 1987- The DSM replaces infantile autism with the much more broad term, autism disorder, which also included a checklist of diagnostic criteria. One year later, the movie Rain Man was released, raising public awareness of Autism disorder, a significant moment in autism awareness history.
• 1990- The federal government includes Autism to be part of special education as a disability category in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
• 1994- Asperger’s Syndrome is officially added to the DSM, which expands the spectrum disorder to include milder cases of Autism.
• 1998- A study suggesting that Autism was caused by the MMR vaccine is published in The Lancet. The article has been debunked and
• 2000- Due to misinformed but prevalent public fear regarding the vaccine and autism, vaccine Manufacturers remove the mercury-based preservative, thimerosal, from childhood vaccines.
• 2009- The U.S. Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1 in 110 children have Autism - the statistic in 2021 has changed to 1 in 44 children. The increase is likely due to improved screenings and diagnostics.
• 2013- An updated version of the DSM is released. In the updated version, all subcategories of the condition are gathered into one umbrella diagnosis of its current name Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and Asperger’s Syndrome is no longer recognized as a separate diagnosis.