IntroASD-U3A

The History of Autism Spectrum Disorder Student's Name Institution of Affiliation Course Name Instructor's Name Date The History of Autism Spectrum Disorder Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a commonly known neurodevelopmental disorder that is established through difficulty in social interaction, communication, and other repetitive characteristics. Recently, the need to understand Autism Spectrum disorder has increased as compared to the past years. Therefore, this essay majors on the five crucial historical and theoretical events that have emerged and managed to shape the current perspectives on Autism Spectrum disorder, namely, pioneer views of ASD before the 1900s, the clinical and researchers associated ASD with "refrigerator mothers" and childhood schizophrenia, the standardization of diagnostic criteria for ASD, the controversial study by Andrew Wakefield in 1998, and the revision of the DSM-5. In addition, understanding these activities plays an essential role in supporting children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. First and foremost, Pioneer's views of ASD before the 1900s are one of the historical and theoretical events. Before the 1900s, there was little information about autism. On top of that, the standard features of autism spectrum disorder that are identified now were frequently misunderstood and mistaken in the years before the 1900s. Historical findings state that individuals who experience symptoms of autism are always regarded as mentally ill. Research conducted in 1942 by Leo Kanner strictly on 11 kids showed that the children experienced challenges such as challenges in socializing with their fellows, adapting to new changes, and were often recognized to have allergies to various foods (Mandal, 2019). This event is essential to the study of ASD since it has created the path for more informed research, generating a proper understanding of the behaviors and development challenges associated with Autism spectrum disorder. In terms of perception changes, this event has helped people to shift their views of the behavior of people living with ASD from insane and madness to a proper understanding of ASD as a development problem. In addition, many other ways have been developed to help ASD individuals, such as therapists and special education for them. Finally, this knowledge has helped boost children with ASD since the best methods and strategies have been formulated that handle the disorder effectively, making them feel normal like other children. The clinical researchers associated ASD with "refrigerator mothers" and childhood schizophrenia in the second event that took place in the mid-20th century. In this activity, autism was stated as schizophrenia since the people affected by it were seen to withdraw from the rest of the people (Mandal, 2023). Despite being highlighted as childhoo...