Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Foreword by Dame Stephanie Shirley xv

Introduction 1

1 The Two Great Pioneers 9

2 The 1950s: The Seeds of Understanding 37

3 Blaming the Parents 54

4 The 1960s: The Parents Fight Back 76

5 The Two Teaching Pioneers 117

6 The 1970s: Major Steps Forward 139

7 Definition, Diagnosis, and Assessment: The History of the Tool 165

8 The 1980s and 1990s: Theories and Concepts 203

9 Autism in the Developing Nations 233

10 Where the Future Lies 265

Notes 298

Bibliography 339

Index 367

About the Author

Adam Feinstein is the editor of two autism-related websites, AutismConnect (www.autismconnect.org.uk) and Awares (www.awares.org), both run by Autism Cymru, Wales�s national charity for autism. He also runs the acclaimed annual Awares international online autism conference. He writes extensively on autism for a range of publications, including The Guardian, broadcasts for the BBC, and gives talks at conferences around the world. He is the founder and editor of Looking Up, the monthly international autism newsletter (www.lookingupautism.org), and has contributed to the UK Medical Research Council�s Autism Review. His much praised biography of the Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda: A Passion for Life, was published in 2004. He has a son with autism.

Reviews

"Another fascinating book on autism. I highly recommend it toanyone interested in the subject: those that have a person withautism in their family, professionals and academics, and anyone ingeneral... In my opinion, Feinstein has made a significant effortto be impartial, something that I am sure it has not been easy."(Iautism, 2011) "This is a comprehensive history, charting thinking, practiceand theories from the late 1930s to the present day ...Recommended - a much-needed addition to the autism library."(Communication Magazine, 1 April 2011) "Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, professionals."(Choice , 1 April 2011) "Feinstein offers one of the first truly comprehensive overviewsof the history of autism research...culminating with a discussionof the projected future of autism research. He interviewed dozensof researchers and prominent autistic people in several countries,in addition to consulting numerous primary sources to compile thisauthoritative text. Feinstein traces the condition from before itwas known as autism through the present day, and in so doing,methodically dissects both the parental blame hysteria that grippedthe 1980s and the explosion of autism awareness and controversy inthe twenty-first century." ( Asperger's Association of NewEngland Journal , Fall/Winter 2010)"This is a much needed bookon the history of autism. What sets this book apart from the othersis the description of the hypotheses about the disorder back whenDr. Kanner and Dr. Asperger were first writing about their uniquediscoveries. It provides readers with a much needed understandingof the disorder from the past as well as the present."( Doody's , September 2010) "This book is more than a collection of facts; it's also adetailed account of often-fierce controversy and professionalrivalry... Feinstein's book is a fascinating and indispensablerecord of the journey so far." ( Special Children , 2010) A "In his History of Autism, Adam Feinstein hasdocumented in an entertaining and yet exacting way, the evolvinghistory of how our present-day ideas about autism reflect thepersonalities and interests of key individuals, who played criticalroles in our understanding of this perplexing symptom complex. Hehas been to interview them, all over the world, and draws somefascinating responses to his questions. It is particularly pleasingthat he managed to gather the material for his review before themost elderly among the pioneers passed away, as several have donewithin the past 2 or 3 years." ( Brain: A Journal ofNeurology, 2011) A