Symptoms of autism have existed since ancient times, but it was not until the 1940s that autism was first named and clinically analyzed by American child psychiatrist Leo Kanner.
In other words, the academic research on autism has only been more than 70 years, and the diagnostic criteria and treatment methods are still being improved.
Due to the changes in the definition of autism, especially the DSM-V diagnostic criteria, the criteria for identifying autism may be broader than before. For example, a study found that according to current standards, 40% of children who were previously diagnosed with language use disorders can now be classified as autistic children (Bishop, Whitehouse, Watt and Line, 2008).
This can be seen from Kanner's summary of the characteristics of autism and DSM-5 more than 70 years later.
In Kanner's first paper on autism, he described the basic characteristics of autism as:
"This child shows an extreme self-enclosed behavior, a strange rigid and stubborn tendency; Cognitive language has obstacles in the development level, the activities are the same, it is too sensitive to stimuli, it can't respond properly to sensory stimuli, it has strong psychological resistance to the change of habits, and its intellectual development is unbalanced; Some autistic children have excellent mechanical memory ability, that is, the phenomenon of "isolated island", but most autistic children are mentally retarded. "
In contrast, DSM-V, the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in the United States, clearly summarizes autism more completely:
Unable to interact socially through eye contact, gaze, facial expressions, body posture and gestures.
It is impossible to develop a peer relationship that meets the level of development and can enjoy interests, activities and emotions.
Cannot spontaneously share positive emotions, interests or achievements with others.
Unable to give social or emotional feedback, biased response to other people's emotions, unable to adjust behavior according to social environment.
Oral language is slow or defective, and oral expression cannot be compensated by gestures or other alternative expressions.
The ability to initiate or maintain dialogue is obviously flawed.
Use some words or phrases rigidly, repeatedly or oddly.
Lack of diverse, spontaneous dress-up games or social The Imitation Game commensurate with their development level.
In addition to the dysfunction of social interaction and communication, autistic individuals also have repetitive and stereotyped behavior patterns.
-p.6, autism spectrum disorder.
In addition, Canner suggested that under the education of "refrigerator parents", children may be emotionally far away from their parents and retreat to their inner world, thus forming autism. His view has been criticized by later generations, but if it is true, one of the reasons for the increasing number of autistic children may be that the pressure of life in modern society has increased dramatically and the way of interpersonal communication has changed, which has caused more and more new generation parents to lose emotional contact with their children, thus leading to an increase in the prevalence of autistic children.
Some scholars believe that brain biological factors such as brain gene, brain bacterial infection, pregnancy and childbirth infection (existing in amniotic fluid) and unexplained subtle brain injury may also be the pathogenic factors of autism. However, changes in diet structure in modern society (the proliferation of genetically modified foods) and environmental pollution may aggravate the risks of brain biology and lead to an increase in the prevalence of autism.