Rohini Knudson
SPED Professional Portfolio
Timeline of the evolving clinical diagnosis of autism
1943
Leo Kanner is the first to describe infantile autism as a distinct psychiatric condition characterized by a powerful desire for aloneness and sameness.
1944
Hans Asperger publishes his study identifying a cluster of behaviors now associated with autism such as one-sided conversations, difficulty forming friendships and intense absorption in special interests.
1980
DSM-III includes 'autism disorder' as a category of pervasive developmental disorders, separate from schizophrenia.
1952
The first edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-I) classifies autism-like conditions under childhood schizophrenia.
1987
DSM-III-R drops the early onset (before 30 months) criterion for diagnosis and includes PDD-NOS (pervasive developmental disorder - not otherwise specified) as a new category to cover milder versions of autism.
1994
DSM-IV recognizes the 'spectrum' nature of autism and replaces the narrow diagnosis of 'autism disorder' with five distinct categories - autistic disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, rett's syndrome disorder, asperger's syndrome disorder and PDD-NOS.
2013
DSM-V introduces the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) characterized by symptoms in two groups of categories - 'persistent impairment in reciprocal social communication and social interaction', and 'restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior' - both present in early childhood.