Infantile Autism

Abstract

Bernard Rimland published his book Infantile Autism: The Syndrome and Its Implications for a Neural Theory of Behavior (hereafter Infantile Autism )in 1964. The book proposed a theory to explain the causes of autism. The book also synthesized research into autism and used Rimland's neural theory, described in the book, as a theory to explain some aspects of behavior, intelligence, and abnormality. Moreover, Infantile Autism contributed to a debate between Rimland and child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim in the 1960s about whether autism was caused by how parents raised their children or by impaired brain development. Rimland's book convinced many autism researchers to study abnormal psychological development. In 1956, two years after completing his doctorate in experimental psychology at Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pennsylvania, Rimland and his wife Gloria had their first child Mark. During this time, Rimland and his family lived in Point Loma, California, where Rimland worked in the measurement research department for the US Navy. Mark exhibited behavior that matched descriptions of autistic children. Those descriptions came from Leo Kanner, a psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins University [4] in Baltimore, Maryland who described autistic behavior in his 1943 article "Autistic Disturbances of Affective Contact." After reading Kanner's article, Rimland began to study what he perceived as a state of disarray in autism research, and he began compiling published research for a review paper. The review paper evolved into Infantile Autism , which advocated for the study of autism as a biological disorder rather than a psychogenic one, or one that originates from the mind. Psychoanalysts like Bruno Bettelheim argued that elements in children's environments caused autism, and those arguments dissuaded many from looking at abnormal developmental processes as potential causes of autism. Infantile Autism suggested alternate, biological origins for autism in children. Rimland submitted a manuscript of the book to the Appleton-Century-Crofts Company in New York City, New York, for its annual writing competition. Infantile Autism was the first to receive the company's Century Infantile Autism contributed to a debate between Rimland and child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim in the 1960s over whether autism was caused by upbringing (see refrigerator mother theory) or by impaired brain development. Rimland's book convinced many autism researchers to look for abnormal psychological development.