Autism Essay

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Autism is a condition which is characterized by impaired social interaction, impaired social communication and restricted repertoire of interest (DSM 5). Autism, like cerebral palsy or epilepsy is not a single disease. It is a name given to behavioral phenotype that may have many etiologies. The word autism is derived from a Greek word “autos” which means “self”. Thus autism meant ‘isolated self’. Eugen Bleuler, a Swiss psychiatrist, was the first person to use the word autism. He started using it around 1911 to refer to a group of symptoms of schizophrenia. In 1942 researchers started using the term Autism to describe children with emotional or social problems. In 1943, Dr. Leo Kanner, Austrian psychiatrist, published a report on 11 of his patients, entitled “Autistic Disturbances of Affective contact”. He used the term “early infantile autism” to describe “extreme aloneness” that he saw was characteristic. This group of children were alike in behavioral aspects but were different from the normal children. All of the described children were not able to develop normal social relat...

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