Asperger’s Syndrome: A Brief Diagnostic History
Due to the increased attention which Asperger’s Syndrome1 has been receiving over the last ten years in an ever-increasing volume of books, magazine and newspaper articles, radio and television interviews, and even a feature film, one may suspect that it is a fairly recent development-the “disability du jour.“2 As a matter of fact, it was “discovered” in 1944 by Hans Asperger, a Viennese pediatrician who noticed a series of unusual traits and behavior patterns in a group of children whom he was observing. He referred to this syndrome as “Autistic Personality Disorder” and little was said about it outside of pediatric and academic circles until 1981.3
That year British psychiatrist Lorna Wing, recognizing that some of the autistic children with traits similar to those observed by Dr. Asperger had higher language capabilities and higher functional capacity in general, renamed the condition Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) to distinguish these children from those with “low-functioning” autism. She published her findings in a groundbreaking paper which attracted the attention of neurologists, pediatricians, and behavioral scientists. The first diagnostic criteria were published in 1989, and by 1994 Asperger’s Syndrome was officially recognized by both the World Health Organization and the American Psychiatric Association, both of which published information on the disorder in their textbooks. By 2000 Asperger’s Syndrome had been featured in an ever-growing stream of books, articles, media interviews, and websites.4
Notes
1. A helpful overview of Asperger’s Syndrome (abbreviated AS), including the common symptoms and their effects, can be found at http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/ad.html. Dr. Attwood is one of the world’s leading authorities on AS. For a comprehensive treatment on AS, the interested reader is referred to his book The Complete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome.
2. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=3802533&page=1
3. Tony Attwood, The Complete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome, p. 12-13
4. Attwood, p. 35-36
