10 Little Known Facts About Autism

In honor of World Autism Awareness Day, here are ten interesting facts about autism.

1. Eugen Bleuler, a Swiss psychiatrist, first used the term autism in 1911. Bleuler used autism when describing symptoms of schizophrenia. (WebMD)

2. In 1943, psychiatrist Leo Kanner gave the “first clinical account” of autism. You can read Kanner’s paper here. (Interactive Autism Network)

Leo Kanner via Wikimedia Commons

3. In 1944, Hans Asperger defined a condition in which children had normal intelligence, poor social skills and singular interests. He called it “autistic psychopathy.” In 1982, it became known as Asperger’s Syndrome. Asperger's became a separate diagnosis in 1992. (NIH)

Hans Asperger with child

4. Kanner and Asperger came from Austria, but never collaborated despite studying the same behaviors in children. (SFARI)

5. Children with autism often read and understand material above their age or grade level, a condition called hyperlexia. (Autismsd.com)

6. People with autism have a higher risk for seizures than those without the disorder. (Listverse)

HepingTing on Flickr

7. A cause for autism has not been found. However, a lot of potential causes blame mothers

Kaz on Pixabay

including:

• · mother getting the flu
• · the order in which women have their children
• · induced labor
• · what a mother eats during pregnancy
• · having a baby in the summer
• · a mother’s age
• · being a bad parent or refrigerator mother

8. In 2008, children in three families that used the same sperm donor were diagnosed with autism. (CNN)

Nemo on Pixaby

9. In identical twins, if one twin has autism, the other twin has a 90 percent chance of developing the disorder. (Girls Talk Autism)

Badelcap on Pixabay

10. Bullying occurs more often in children with autism, especially those with Asperger’s Syndrome or high functioning autism. (Forbes)

Jedidja on Pixabay

A version of this article was published on Examiner.com.