ABSTRACT
In 1943, Leo Kanner described a group of children who had in common an unusual pattern of behaviour which he termed 'infantile autism'. They had a profound lack of affective contact, intense insistence on sameness in their selfchosen, often bizarre and elaborate repetitive routines, muteness or marked abnormality of speech, fascination with and ability in manipulating objects, and good visuospatial skill in contrast with learning difficulties in other areas. In 1944, Hans Asperger described children with a cluster of behaviours which now bear the name Asperger's syndrome. These young people were naive in their social interactions, had intense circumscribed interests, good grammar and vocabulary but monotonous speech, poor motor ability, marked lack of common sense and specific learning disabilities. Asperger admitted that there were similarities between the syndrome that he had described and that described by Leo Kanner.
