HISTORY OF THE EMERGENCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONCEPT OF “AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER” IN PSYCHOLOGICAL RETROSPECTIVE

Abstract

Autism has undergone a cardinal transformation from a narrowly defined diagnosis to an understanding of a neurodevelopmental spectrum. The term “autism” was introduced by Swiss psychiatrist P.E. Bleuler in 1911 as a symptom of childhood schizophrenia. The turning point came in 1943–1944, when American psychiatrist Leo Kanner and Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger independently described two syndromes with different levels of functioning. The period of 1949–1960s was marked by the erroneous theory of the “refrigerator mother”, which attributed autism to parental emotional coldness. This psychoanalytic paradigm dominated until the 1960s, when genetic research began to reveal the biological foundations of the disorder. The revolutionary contribution of British psychiatrist Lorna Wing in the 1970s–1980s fundamentally changed the understanding of autism. Based on her “Camberwell Study”, the concept of the autism spectrum was proposed instead of discrete categories. Wing developed the triad of impairments: social interaction, social communication, and social imagination, which became the definition of autism. She also popularized Asperger’s syndrome in Western science. Modern understanding is characterized by a shift from categorical to transdiagnostic models, recognition of genetic heterogeneity, and the development of standardized diagnostic criteria (DSM-5, ICD-10). Prevalence increased from the predicted 1 in 2 500 children (1960s) to 1 in 88–100 children (2010s–2020s), which indicates improved diagnosis and expanded understanding of the spectrum. The history of autism spectrum disorder demonstrates the evolution of scientific knowledge, methodological approaches, social awareness, and humanism in understanding neurodevelopmental peculiarities.