Autism History

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurological and developmental disorder that begins early in childhood and lasts throughout a person's life. With the help of time, we now have a better understanding of the disease spectrum. Those observations made by the early pioneers have evolved as breakthroughs in the disease management process. In exploring past human competency levels and myths of autism, an emphasis of significance is placed on increasing awareness and the reaction factors to seeking treatment, as the scope of early intervention.

Have you, a friend or family member been living with undiagnosed autism? For every visibly autistic person you meet, there are countless 'masked' people who pass as neurotypical. They don't fit the stereotypical mould of autism and are often forced by necessity to mask who they are, spending their entire lives trying to hide their autistic traits. In particular, there is evidence that autism remains significantly undiagnosed in women, people of colour, trans and gender non-conforming people, many of whom are only now starting to recognise those traits later in life.

The definitive guide for parents of autisic children, written from the perspective of neurodiversity. Written by Jessie Hewitson, an award-winning journalist at The Times, Autism is the audiobook she wishes she had listened to when her son was first given the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. It combines her own experiences with tips from autistic adults, other parents - including author David Mitchell - as well as advice from autism professionals and academics such as Professor Simon Baron-Cohen. 

What causes autism? Is it a genetic disorder, or due to some unknown environmental hazard? Are we facing an autism epidemic? What are the main symptoms, and how does it relate to Asperger syndrome? Everyone has heard of autism, but the disorder itself is little understood. It has captured the public imagination through films and novels portraying individuals with baffling combinations of disability and extraordinary talent, and yet the reality is that it often places a heavy burden on sufferers and their families.

Everyone seems to agree that we have an epidemic of what is diagnosed as autism. But, in the history of our society, there has never been "an epidemic" of any developmental or genetic disorder. Yet, over the span of thirty years, autism has gone from affecting one in 5,000 children to one in 90, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So what is this "autism", which has come to affect the lives of so many?

Discover the ultimate handbook for success on the autistic spectrum written from lived experience."I feel like everyone else got a handbook with all the answers, and I never got my copy." This is a common thought among autistic adults, because society is built with neurotypical people in...

Andrew Wakefield reveals the inside story of desperate parents trying to help their autistic children, only to be labeled as abusers by social workers, medical professionals, and the courts. As the number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders grows each year, new discoveries and controversies arise. Andrew Wakefield explores many of these in his thorough investigation of the recent trial case of the “Arizona 5,” which destroyed an Arizona family.

Including a preface read by the author, Gina Rippon. 'A compelling exploration. Rippon is easily the most engaging communicator of neuroscience research working today. A truly fascinating must-read' – Elinor Cleghorn, bestselling author of Unwell Women 'Powerful and well-researched. The Lost...

Move beyond conventional thinking about autism. . . . After years of treating patients and analyzing scientific data, prominent Harvard researcher and clinician Dr. Martha Herbert offers a revolutionary new view of autism and a transformative strategy for dealing with it. Autism is not a...

Autism has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years, thanks to dramatically increasing rates of diagnosis, extensive organizational mobilization, journalistic coverage, biomedical research, and clinical innovation. Understanding Autism, a social history of the expanding diagnostic category of this contested illness, takes a close look at the role of emotion - specifically, of parental love - in the intense and passionate work of biomedical communities investigating autism.

The first time you heard the word "autism," it probably was not in a doctor's office. It was in a chat room. A group text. A comment thread. Someone's plan fell through and they typed, "I completely autismed out today." Everyone moved on. No one thought twice. Because the word had become a shorthand for a passing mood, a moment of wanting quiet, a refusal to engage, an afternoon of not feeling social. But somewhere, at that exact moment, a mother was sitting alone in a hospital parking lot with a piece of paper in her hands. A diagnosis. A word that, for her son, was not a mood.

For years, the media has often poked fun at various marginalized individuals, damaging the impact that these people have on the world. And this is especially true for the media’s portrayal of autism. In the modern day, we like to believe that we are more socially aware and more accepting of people’s differences. Then we get singer-songwriter Sia’s film Music. What should have been a story focused on the nuances of autism spectrum disorder was instead a foray into the pseudo-whimsical world of misrepresentation and autistic stereotypes.