Abstract
First described in 1944 by Hans Asperger (1944), it was not before 1994 that Asperger Syndrome (AS) was included in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, only to disappear in the Manual’s fifth edition in 2013. During its brief existence as a diagnostic entity, AS aroused immense interest and controversy. Similar to patients with autism, AS patients show deficits in social interaction, inappropriate communication skills, and interest restriction, but also display a rich variety of subtle clinical characteristics that for many distinguish AS from autism. However, difficulties operationalising diagnostic criteria and differentiating AS from autism ultimately led to its merging into the unifying category of Autistic Spectrum Disorders. Here we briefly review the short history of this fascinating condition.
Highlights
REFRIGERATOR MOTHERS AND FINE-BONED ARISTOCRATSThe entry of autism and Asperger syndrome (AS) into the history of psychopathology was marked by extraordinary coincidences
Both disorders were first described by Kanner (1943) and Asperger (1944), respectively. Both were Austrian-born physicians and, though unaware of each other’s writings, both used the term “autistic” to describe a unique group of children who shared features of impaired social interaction and restricted, repetitive behaviors and interests. Both Kanner (1943) and Asperger (1944) borrowed the term “autistic” from Eugen Bleuler, who used it in his “Dementia Praecox or the Group of Schizophrenias” to describe extreme social withdrawal and self-centeredness in patients with schizophrenia
Both Kanner (1943) and Asperger (1944) borrowed the term “autistic” from Eugen Bleuler, who used it in his “Dementia Praecox or the Group of Schizophrenias” to describe extreme social withdrawal and self-centeredness in patients with schizophrenia. Both authors emphasized that the syndrome they were describing differed from infantile (e.g., De Sancti’s dementia praecocissima) and juvenile schizophrenia, namely by manifesting from birth and improving with growth, in contrast to the usual course of schizophrenia (Higier, 1923)
Summary
Reviewed by: Andrea Raballo, University of Oslo, Norway João Gama Marques, University of Lisbon, Portugal. Specialty section: This article was submitted to Psychopathology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychology. Syndrome: The Short Reign of a Troublesome Diagnosis. First described in 1944 by Hans Asperger (1944), it was not before 1994 that Asperger Syndrome (AS) was included in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, only to disappear in the Manual’s fifth edition in 2013. During its brief existence as a diagnostic entity, AS aroused immense interest and controversy. Difficulties operationalising diagnostic criteria and differentiating AS from autism led to its merging into the unifying category of Autistic Spectrum Disorders. We briefly review the short history of this fascinating condition
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