#leo kanner

PSINKTOBER_DAY17

Prompt: Ornate

It’s okay Grunya, I will always remember you.

Hi friend! Sadly, I don’t know of any autism activists that are autistic themselves. This is probably due to the way that disabled people are looked down upon in our society, especially when demanding equal treatment.

I do, however, recommend Leo Kanner! He was not autistic himself, but he is credited with “discovering” it. He almost died under Hitler, and I have a feeling he wouldn’t like the “Autism Moms™” of today. Here’s a piece from his Wikipedia article, “[he was upset] about the usual mistreatment of mentally disabled children. He expressed concern about a society that causes the intellectual haves to look down on the intellectual have-nots, which led many to look down on the mentally deficient child as an object of adult manipulations rather than as a human being who reacts to affection and hostility, to acceptance and rejection, to approval and disapproval, to patience and irritability as any other child would.” Of course he’s not perfect, as most allistic allies aren’t, but he did a lot for disabled and autistic children! Happy research, friend!

Introduction

Autistic disorder is a form of autism.  It is also known as autism, childhood autism, early infantile autism, Kanner's syndrome or infantile psychosis.

The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published in 2013, eliminates autistic disorder as a formal diagnosis by dissolving it and other subtypes of autism into one diagnosis called autism spectrum disorder.

The 10th edition of the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, published in 2010, states that 'childhood autism' is

Deze week enkele korte odes aan de ‘onbekende bekende’: iemand die op deze datum geboren is en een plekje in de encyclopedie verdiend heeft, maar niet bekend is bij het grote publiek.

Vandaag: Leo Kanner, geboren op 13 juni 1894 in Klekotow, Oostenrijk-Hongarije (tegenwoordig Oekraïne). Zijn ouders waren beide joods, en na een opleiding in Berlijn koos Kanner ervoor om naar de VS te emigreren. Naar eigen zeggen had hij zijn leven te danken aan die beslissing: hij had de holocaust niet kunnen overleven, aldus Kanner.

Als hij in Oost-Europa was gebleven, dan was de medische wetenschap en vooral de psychiatrie een grootheid misgelopen. Kanner werd opgeleid tot medicus in het leger, maar maakte naam als ‘vader van de kinderpsychiatrie’.