History and First Descriptions of Autism: Asperger Versus Kanner Revisited

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Chown, N. & Hughes, E. (2016). History and First Descriptions of Autism: Asperger Versus Kanner Revisited. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46(6), 2270-2272. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2746-0

Publication date: 16 Feb 2016 Added to AutiHub: 5 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
2
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 2 (50.0%)
  1. Nicholas Chown *
  2. Elizabeth Hughes

Abstract

When reading Michael Fitzgerald's chapter entitled 'Autism: Asperger's Syndrome-History and First Descriptions' in 'Asperger's Disorder' edited by Rausch, Johnson and Casanova, a while ago, one of us was struck by his contention that Kanner was guilty of plagiarism as well as non-attribution of Asperger's 1938 paper 'Das psychisch abnorme kind' (Fitzgerald in Asperger's disorder. Informa Healthcare, New York, 2008) published in a Vienna weekly. Steve Silberman has discovered evidence that Kanner rescued Asperger's chief diagnostician from the Nazis in 1944 so must have been aware of Asperger's work and conclusions. Fitzgerald was on the right track but it appears that Kanner may have plagiarised Asperger's ideas rather than his 1938 paper.

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Cited references
16
Total cited references integrated for this publication.
Cited references with an identified autistic author
1 / 16 (6.2%)
Cited author occurrences identified as autistic
1 / 24 (4.2%)
Among occurrences linked to AutiHub author records: 1 / 4 (25.0%). Distinct cited authors identified as autistic: 1 / 24 (4.2%).
Cited author occurrences linked to AutiHub author records
4 / 24 (16.7%)
Distinct linked cited authors: 4 / 24 (16.7%)
Linked cited-author occurrences not identified as autistic
3 / 4 (75.0%)
Among linked cited-author occurrences only. Across all cited-author occurrences: 3 / 24 (12.5%). Distinct linked cited authors not identified as autistic: 3 / 4 (75.0%).
1 cited bibliography entry could not be fully enriched from DOI metadata.
Crossref: not found (1)
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