Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Handbook of Assessment and Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder pp 1–9Cite as

History and Purpose of Assessment and Diagnosis of Autism

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

  • 5324 Accesses

Part of the book series: Autism and Child Psychopathology Series ((ACPS))

Abstract

This chapter will trace the development of method and measures designed to screen, diagnose, and monitor autism. Beginning with the use of clinical observation and history, assessments have become more structured and specialized. A discussion of how screening and diagnostic methods came about and developed will be reviewed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References

  • American Psychiatric Association. (1980). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2004). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text revision). Washington, DC: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2014). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blacher, J., & Christensen, L. (2011). Sowing the seeds of the autism field: Leo Kanner (1943). Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 49(3), 172–191.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bryson, S. E., Rogers, S. J., & Fombonne, E. (2003). In review. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 48, 506–516.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Creak, M. (1961). Schizophrenic syndrome in childhood: Progress report of a working party. Cerebral Palsy Bulletin, 3, 501.

    Google Scholar 

  • Creak , M. (1964). Schizophrenic syndrome in childhood: Further progress report of a working party. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 6, 530–535.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeMyer, M. K., Churchill, D. W., Pontius, W., & Gilkey, K. M. (1971). A comparison of five diagnostic systems for childhood schizophrenia and infantile autism. Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia, 1(2), 175–189.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dover, C. J., & Le Couteur, A. (2007). How to diagnose autism. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 92(6), 540–545.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberger, L., & Kanner, L. (1956). Childhood Schizophrenia Symposium, 1955. 6. Early Infantile Autism 1943-55. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 26(3), 556–566.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans, B. (2013). How autism became autism: The radical transformation of a central concept of child development in Britain. History of the Human Sciences, 26(3), 3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fein, D., Pennington, B., Markowitz, P., Braverman, M., & Waterhouse, L. (1986). Toward a neuropsychological model of infantile autism: Are the social deficits primary? Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 25(2), 198–212. doi:10.1016/S0002-7138(09)60227-2.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Feinstein, A. (2010). A history of autism: Conversations with the pioneers. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fotheringham, J. B. (1969). Mental Development and Its Assessment by the Family Physician. Canadian Family Physician, 15(6), 41.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Fountain, C., King, M. D., & Bearman, P. S. (2011). Age of diagnosis for autism: Individual and community factors across 10 birth cohorts. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 65(6), 503–510.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Frazier, T. W., Youngstrom, E. A., Speer, L., Embacher, R., Law, P., Constantino, J., … Eng, C. (2012). Validation of proposed DSM-5 criteria for autism spectrum disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 51(1), 28–40.e23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, B. J., Ritvo, E. R., Guthrie, D., Schroth, P., & Ball, J. (1978). The Behavior Observation Scale for Autism: Initial methodology, data analysis, and preliminary findings on 89 children. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 17(4), 576–588.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, B. J., Ritvo, E., & Schroth, P. (1984). Behavior assessment of the syndrome of autism: Behavior observation system. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 23(5), 588–594.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, B. J., Schroth, P., Ritvo, E., Guthrie, D., & Wake, L. (1980). The Behavior Observation Scale for autism (BOS): Initial results of factor analyses. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 10(3), 343–346.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Garcia, B., & Sarvis, M. A. (1964). Evaluation and treatment planning for autistic children. Archives of general psychiatry, 10(5), 530–541.

    Google Scholar 

  • Green, W. H., Campbell, M., Hardesty, A. S., Grega, D. M., Padron-Gayol, M., Shell, J., & Erlenmeyer-Kimling, L. (1984). A comparison of schizophrenic and autistic children. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 23(4), 399–409.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanner, L. (1943). Autistic disturbances of affective contact. Nervous Child, 2, 217–250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanner, L. (1951). The conception of wholes and parts in early infantile autism. American Journal of Psychiatry, 108(1), 23–26.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Klaiman, C., Fernandez-Carriba, S., Hall, C., & Saulnier, C. (2015). Assessment of autism across the lifespan: A way forward. Current Developmental Disorders Reports, 2(1), 84–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krug, D. A., Arick, J., & Almond, P. (1980). Behavior checklist for identifying severely handicapped individuals with high levels of autistic behavior. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 21(3), 221–229.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Le Couteur, A., Rutter, M., Lord, C., Rios, P., Robertson, S., Holdgrafer, M., & McLennan, J. (1989). Autism diagnostic interview: A standardized investigator-based instrument. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 19(3), 363–387.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lord, C., Rutter, M., Goode, S., Heemsbergen, J., Jordan, H., Mawhood, L., & Schopler, E. (1989). Autism diagnostic observation schedule: A standardized observation of communicative and social behavior. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 19(2), 185–212.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lotter, V. (1966). Epidemiology of autistic conditions in young children. Social Psychiatry, 1(3), 124–135.

    Google Scholar 

  • Matson, J. L., Kozlowski, A. M., Hattier, M. A., Horovitz, M., & Sipes, M. (2012). DSM-IV vs DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for toddlers with autism. Developmental Neurorehabilitation, 15(3), 185–190.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McCray, A. T., Trevvett, P., & Frost, H. R. (2014). Modeling the autism spectrum disorder phenotype. Neuroinformatics, 12(2), 291–305.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • McPartland, J. C., Reichow, B., & Volkmar, F. R. (2012). Sensitivity and specificity of proposed DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 51(4), 368–383.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ornitz, E. M., & Ritvo, E. R. (1968). Perceptual inconstancy in early infantile autism: The syndrome of early infant autism and its variants including certain cases of childhood schizophrenia. Archives of General Psychiatry, 18(1), 76–98.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Parks, S. L. (1983). The assessment of autistic children: A selective review of available instruments. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 13(3), 255–267.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Polan, C., & Spencer, B. L. (1959). A check list of symptoms of autism of early life. The West Virginia Medical Journal, 55(6), 198–204.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rendle-Short, J., & Clancy, H. (1968). Infantile Autism. Medical Journal of Australia, 1, 921.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rimland, B. (1964a). Diagnostic Check List for Behavior-Disturbed Children: Form E-2. B. Rimland, Infantile Autism. New York: Appleton-Century- Crofts, 221–236.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rimland, B. (1964b). Infantile autism: The syndrome and its implications for a neural theory of behavior. New York, NY: Appleton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rimland, B. (1971). The differentiation of childhood psychoses: An analysis of checklists for 2,218 psychotic children. Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia, 1(2), 161–174.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ritvo, E. R., & Freeman, B. J. (1978). Introduction: The National Society for Autistic Children’s Definition of the Syndrome of Autism. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 17(4), 565–575.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rotatori, A. F., Obiakor, F. E., & Bakken, J. P. (2011). History of special education (Vol. 21). Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruttenberg, B. A., Dratman, M. L., Fraknoi, J., & Wenar, C. (1966). An instrument for evaluating autistic children. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 5(3), 453–478.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ruttenberg, B. A., Kalish, B., Wenar, C., & Wolf, E. (1974). Behavior rating instrument for autistic and other atypical children. Philadelphia, PA: Developmental Center for Autistic Children.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M. (1970). Autistic children: Infancy to adulthood. Seminars in Psychiatry, 2, 435.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M. (1971). The description and classification of infantile autism. In Infantile autism (pp. 8–29). Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M. (1978). Diagnosis and definition of childhood autism. Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia, 8(2), 139–161.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M., & Schopler, E. (1988). Autism and pervasive developmental disorders: Concepts and diagnostic issues. In E. Schopler & G. B. Mesibov (Eds.), Diagnosis and assessment in autism (pp. 15–36). New York, NY: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M., & Schopler, E. (2012). Autism: A reappraisal of concepts and treatment. New York, NY: Springer Science & Business Media.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schain, R. J., & Yannet, H. (1960). Infantile autism: An analysis of 50 cases and a consideration of certain relevant neurophysiologic concepts. The Journal of Pediatrics, 57(4), 560–567. doi:10.1016/S0022-3476(60)80084-4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schopler, E., Reichler, R. J., DeVellis, R. F., & Daly, K. (1980). Toward objective classification of childhood autism: Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 10(1), 91–103.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shattuck, P. T., Durkin, M., Maenner, M., Newschaffer, C., Mandell, D. S., Wiggins, L., … Cuniff, C. (2009). Timing of identification among children with an autism spectrum disorder: Findings from a population-based surveillance study. Journal Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry, 48(5), 474–483. doi: 10.1097/CHI.0b013e31819b3848

  • Valicenti-McDermott, M., Hottinger, K., Seijo, R., & Shulman, L. (2012). Age at diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders. The Journal of Pediatrics, 161(3), 554–556.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Volkmar, F. R., Cicchetti, D. V., Bregman, J., & Cohen, D. J. (1992). Three diagnostic systems for autism: DSM-III, DSM-III-R, and ICD-10. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 22(4), 483–492.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Volkmar, F. R., & McPartland, J. C. (2014). From Kanner to DSM-5: Autism as an evolving diagnostic concept. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 10, 193–212.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Volkmar, F. R., Siegel, M., Woodbury-Smith, M., King, B., McCracken, J., & State, M. (2014). Practice parameter for the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 53(2), 237–257.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ward, A. J. (1970). Early infantile autism: Diagnosis, etiology, and treatment. Psychological Bulletin, 73(5), 350.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wiggins, L. D., Baio, J., & Rice, C. (2006). Examination of the time between first evaluation and first autism spectrum diagnosis in a population-based sample. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 27(2 Suppl), S79–S87.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wing, L. (1997). The History of Ideas on Autism Legends, Myths and Reality. Autism, 1(1), 13–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wing, L., & Wing, J. K. (Eds.). (1976). Early childhood autism: Clinical, educational and social aspects. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Worley, J. A., & Matson, J. L. (2012). Comparing symptoms of autism spectrum disorders using the current DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria and the proposed DSM-V diagnostic criteria. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 6(2), 965–970.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zwaigenbaum, L., Bryson, S., & Garon, N. (2013). Early identification of autism spectrum disorders. Behavioural Brain Research, 251, 133–146.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    Hilary L. Adams M.A. & Johnny L. Matson Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Hilary L. Adams M.A.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Johnny L. Matson Ph.D.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hilary L. Adams M.A. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    Johnny L. Matson

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Adams, H.L., Matson, J.L. (2016). History and Purpose of Assessment and Diagnosis of Autism. In: Matson, J.L. (eds) Handbook of Assessment and Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism and Child Psychopathology Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27171-2_1

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation