Chapter 8: Nature's Smudged Lines

     How did autism go from being tied to something like schizophrenia and very severe characteristics to a larger spectrum? In England, Lorna Wing, a British psychiatrist, and her husband John, a schizophrenia researcher had a daughter who immediately had problems. Later, they were able to send her to school Sybil Elgar, a Montessori trained teacher, for autistic students. Because of Elgar’s success, the group that eventually became the National Autistic Society was formed of parents (similar to the NASC) and the iconic puzzle-piece logo was developed as a symbol for autism . 

    As King and colleague Judith Gould continued to research and survey, they found that more children than initially identified qualified for autism. Asperger’s Syndrome, a new diagnostic label was created to help identify students who shared some of the characteristics of autism, but did not qualify because they were verbal. Eventually, King would coin the term “Autism Spectrum” to represent the wide range of abilities found in people with autism.