infantile autism

[in-fuhn-tahyl aw-tiz-uhm]

noun

Psychiatry.

1. (no longer in technical use) a disorder appearing in children before the age of two and a half, characterized by a lack of interest in others, impaired communication skills, and unusual behavior, such as ritualistic acts and very strong attachment to objects: now typically known as autism spectrum disorder.

Word History and Origins

Origin of infantile autism¹

First recorded in 1944; autism ( def. )

Example Sentences

In the 1940s, psychiatrists started placing blame for what they called “infantile autism” squarely on the shoulders of mothers.

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In 1970, I carried out the first U.S. study of the epidemiology of infantile autism, published in Archives of General Psychiatry.

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Coining the term “infantile autism,” he described a syndrome characterized by early onset, an extreme need for sameness and an extreme preference for being alone.

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He called it "infantile autism", which was later shortened to just autism.

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However, seven of those babies, or 0.87 percent, were diagnosed with infantile autism, compared to the rate of 0.4 percent among kids in general.

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