In this article, the complicated history of understanding and defining autism is presented. Descriptions of important contributors and studies that are not widely known or remembered are also included and incorporated into the historical timeline. The first descriptions of probable cases of autism date back to the 18th century, but at that time, the individuals were diagnosed with mental retardation or "silent madness." When the term autism was coined by Eugen Bleuler, it was related to the "inner world" to describe severe cases of schizophrenia. The first explicit description of autism, as we understand it today, was published in 1944 by Leo Kanner, who showed both similarities and differences between autism and childhood schizophrenia. Understanding the core problems related to autism took several decades. Groundbreaking studies conducted by Rutter et al. and Kolvin et al. determined that autism was separate from schizophrenia disorder 36 years after its official introduction (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition, in 1980). In 1988, Rutter and Schopler stated that autism had the most validated diagnosis in child psychiatry. However, each subsequent classification introduced major changes and was significantly different from the previous ones. The aim was to optimize the diagnosis and provide optimal care for affected individuals. Our knowledge of autism is broad, and there are still allegations concerning the quality of the currently applicable classifications. Given how many years it has taken and the various approaches that have been used to understand autism, it may indeed be one of the most mysterious disorders in humans. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
Pierucka et al. (Sun,) studied this question.