Disability Law Commons^™

Asperger's Disorder, High-Functioning Autism, And Guardianship In Ohio, Michael E. Bloom

Akron Law Review

Early in the 1940s, two men, worlds apart and unaware of each other’s work, used the term “autism” to describe children that had remarkably similar characteristics, namely core impairments in socialization, communication, and imagination. In the United States in 1943, Leo Kanner published an account of “early infantile autism,” describing children with impaired social interaction, impaired communication, and stereotyped behaviors and interests.Kanner’s children seemed to relate better to objects than people. In Austria in 1944, Hans Asperger used the term “autistic psychopathy” to describe children with impaired social interaction, behavioral oddities, and poor coordination. Asperger’s children, who displayed no delay …