Glossary

Definitions of Terms/Concepts

Adolph Meyer:

Swiss psychiatrist who studied childhood autism and its psychic mechanisms.

Autism/Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Neurodevelopmental disorder affecting brain development, characterised by difficulties in communication, social interactions, and restricted or repetitive behaviours.

High-functioning autism:

Forms of autism allowing relative social and intellectual independence.

Early infantile autism:

Term used by Leo Kanner to describe an autistic disturbance of affective contact in children.

Eugen Bleuler:

Swiss psychiatrist who introduced the term “autism” in 1911 to describe withdrawal into oneself observed in young adults with schizophrenia.

Matilda Effect:

Phenomenon where women’s scientific work is minimised or attributed to male colleagues.

Matthew Effect:

Tendency to give more credit to eminent scientists than to lesser-known ones, even for similar work.

Extraordinary Attorney Woo / The Good Doctor:

Examples of series respectfully portraying autistic characters.
High-functioning autism: see “High-functioning autism”.

Ide Freye:

Dutch psychologist who studied autism in children and proposed a classification of childhood psychological disorders.

Leo Kanner:

Psychiatrist who defined early infantile autism and distinguished autism from schizophrenia.

Lorna Wing:

British psychiatrist, mother of an autistic child, who popularised the concept of the autism spectrum and the term Asperger’s syndrome.

Melanie Klein:

Psychoanalyst who studied childhood schizophrenia and autism in children.

National Autistic Society:

British association founded in 1962 to support families and raise public awareness about autism.
Social psychiatry: study of social and environmental factors influencing mental health.

Margaret W. Rossiter:

Science historian who coined the term “Matilda Effect”.
Asperger’s syndrome: former name for a type of autism, now replaced by the autism spectrum concept.

Wing’s Triad (Triad of Impairments):

Model describing the characteristic deficits of autism: social interaction, communication, and restricted interests.

#ActuallyAutistic:

Activist hashtag on social media allowing autistic people to share their experiences without stereotypes.

Rosalind Franklin / Lise Meitner / Maryam Mirzakhani:

Examples of women scientists whose work was recognised late or attributed to men.

Synapse / Neurological development:

Biological and genetic aspects involved in autism.

Stereotype:

Simplified and often false representation of a group or individual.