Reference
- Kanner, Leo (1894–1981)Leo Kanner is a world-renowned psychiatrist who substantially influenced the field of child psychiatry by providing the first published, professional description of early infantile autism in 1943 (Neumarker,). Born in Austria, Kanner was college-educated in Germany, where he attended the School of Medicine at Fiedrich-Whilhelms-University of Berlin. His studies were interrupted with his service in the Austrian Army during World War I. After the war, he resumed his studies at the University of Berlin and obtained his MD in 1921 (Sanua,). Kanner worked as cardiologist in Germany, then, in 1924 he immigrated to the United States, where he became an assistant physician in the state hospital of Yankton, South Dakota. Three years later, he was invited by Professors Adolf Meyer and Edward A. Park to inaugurate the first psychiatry service in a pediatric hospital in the United States. In 1935, Kanner published Child Psychiatry, the first English language textbook on child psychiatry (Eisenberg,). From 1971 to 1972, Kanner was the Editor for the Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia, later renamed the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Two years before his retirement, Kanner became full professor of child psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland and actively worked as a professor and psychiatrist in a private practice until shortly before his death in 1981, at the age of 86. By the time he died, Kanner had published 10 books and 300 articles.
Perspectives
Infantile Autism
In 1964, the release of Dr. Bernard Rimland's book, Infantile Autism, revolutionized the autism field by providing the autism community with much-needed guidance on how to understand and treat individuals on the spectrum. He single-handedly realigned the field from a psychodynamic, parent-blaming perspective to a scientific, physiological course of action. This 50th anniversary edition presents the original book with contributions from leaders in the autism field, including Drs. Martha Herbert and Simon Baron-Cohen, who celebrate Dr. Rimland's exceptional work, and place his findings within the context of autism as we understand it today. Bringing Dr. Rimland's findings up to date for a new generation of readers, this book will be fascinating reading for parents and those on the autism spectrum as well as professionals working with autism and anyone with an interest in autism and/or psychological theory.
Infantile Autism
Professor Bosch's study of infantile autism is a most valuable contribution to the slowly increasing body of knowledge about this baffling and most severe psychiatrie disorder of childhood. Reading it in the original German when it first appeared in 1962, I was greatly impressed by his deep sympathy for these unfortunate children and by his keen insight into the overt manifestations of a behavior which presents the observer with tantalizing riddles. Having spent nearly a lifetime in unravelling the meaning of the behavior of autistic children, I was much taken by Professor Bosch's very different approach to the same problem. His research sheds further light into the darkness that reigns in the mind of the autistic child. I am delighted that his important contribution is now easily available also to American readers. Everybody who works with children suffering from infantile autism for any length of time and also studies this disease, becomes impressed by how much their inability to relate and to resporrd appro"prrately can teach us about human psychology in general, and in particular how and why things go wrong in man's relations to his fellow man. All through his book, Professor Bosch correctly stresses that autistic behavior is neither asymptom nor a syndrome, but a unique form of breakdown in all inter personal relations.
Steve Silberman: The forgotten history of autism
- Steve Silberman: The forgotten history of autismDecades ago, few pediatricians had heard of autism. In 1975, 1 in 5,000 kids was estimated to have it. Today, 1 in 68 is on the autism spectrum. What caused this steep rise? Steve Silberman points to “a perfect storm of autism awareness” — a pair of doctors with an accepting view, an unexpected pop culture moment and a new clinical test. But to really understand, we have to go back further to an Austrian doctor by the name of Hans Asperger, who published a pioneering paper in 1944. Because it was buried in time, autism has been shrouded in misunderstanding ever since.
Autism Spectrum Disorder in Infants and Toddlers
- Autism Spectrum Disorder in Infants and ToddlersThis introductory lecture by Kasia Chawarska, PhD is focused on early core and comorbid features of autism as well as characteristics of infants who later develop autism.
Online Resources
- Autoimmune diseases in parents of children with infantile autism: a case—control studyThis register study compared the rates and types of autoimmune disease in the parents of 111 patients (82 males, 29 females; mean age at diagnosis 5y 5mo [SD 2y 6mo]) with infantile autism (IA) with a matched control group of parents of 330 children from the general population. All parents were screened through the nationwide Danish National Hospital Register. We inquired about 35 autoimmune diseases during an observation period of 27 years. At follow-up the case and control mothers were identical in age (65y 7mo [SDs 9y 7mo and 9y respectively]). For case and control fathers the figures were 70 years 2 months (SD 10y 2mo) and 69 years 1 month (SD 10y 1mo) respectively. A similar proportion of case and control mothers had a diagnosis of any autoimmune disease: 10.8% versus 9.1%.
- Neonatal jaundice: a risk factor for infantile autism?In a previous study, we found that infants transferred to a neonatal ward after delivery had an almost twofold increased risk of being diagnosed with infantile autism later in childhood in spite of extensive controlling of obstetric risk factors. We therefore decided to investigate other reasons for transfer to a neonatal ward, in particular hyperbilirubinaemia and neurological abnormalities. We conducted a population‐based matched case–control study of 473 children with autism and 473 matched controls born from 1990 to 1999 in Denmark.
- Perinatal risk factors and infantile autism.Suboptimal conditions during pregnancy and birth have been suggested as a cause of infantile autism. We have studied the association between obstetric factors and infantile autism. Method: A population-based, matched case-control study of infantile autism. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: The risk of infantile autism was increased for mothers aged > 35 years, with foreign citizenship, and mothers who used medicine during pregnancy. A higher risk of infantile autism was seen among children with low birth weight and with congenital malformations. Birth interventions, pathological cardiotocography, green amnion fluid and acidosis during delivery were not associated with increased risk for infantile autism.