What is Autism

Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder which is characterized by deficits in the areas of social interaction and communication, as well as stereotypic and repetitive patterns of behavior. Leo Kanner firstly named the disorder Early infantile autism in 1943 and argued that this disorder was different from other pervasive childhood disorders, specifically childhood schizophrenia. Kanner described autism as a disorder with communication deficits, a typical cognitive potential and behavioral problems such as obsessiveness, repetitious actions and unimaginative play. Kanner emphasized on the fundamental disturbance of autism, which was an inability to relate to people and situations from the beginning of life. Individuals with autism were described as happiest when left alone or acting as if people weren't there (Kanner, 1973).  To this extreme social isolation Kanner attributed the term Autistic, which originates from the Greek root of "auto" (αυτο), referring to actions centered in one's self. Kanner's classification of the disorder was very important as Autism and schizophrenia were now considered independent from each other, even though they had a history of being intricately connected. Most of the characteristics described by Kanner were subsequently observed by others and became central in defining the disorder.