An approach to the historical evolution of autism

Abstract

This work takes a historical approach to the phenomenon of autism since its Genesis. It begins at the beginning of the 20th century, taking into account the change in conception that occurred in previous centuries about health and illness. The entire first half of the last century was focused on the identification and classification of the condition. Bleuer 1911 associates it with schizophrenia; However, it was Sukhareva in 1926 who was the first to characterize and differentiate it. Years later, in the 40s and 50s, the term was internationalized by Kanner and Asperger, and the DSM also appeared. In the second half of the 20th century, the three dimensions conceptualized by Wing as analytical instruments appear: the theory of mind, the deficit in central coherence and executive function. Also in this period, Ángel Rivière expands the analytical prism starting from Wing’s three dimensions, taking it to 12, which he uses as theoretical tools to intervene in autism. During these 24 years of the 21st century, the use of each of the intervention instruments has been perfected, and in 2014 the DSM5 was published.