Lauretta Bender on autism: a review

Lauretta Bender, internationally known as one of the pioneers in the field of child psychiatry, has written extensively on autism and other forms of childhood disturbance. This paper reviews and analyzes the development of her theories on autism, especially as it relates to childhood schizophrenia. Bender believes that the condition is one of the manifestations of schizophrenia occurring in earliest childhood. This review traces, through her writings and through personal contact, the development and elaboration of this view, and discusses influences on her work of Schilder, Gesell and others.