by Playfuls Staff |
27th November 2006
Bernard Rimland, widely known as the father of modern autism research, has died in California at the age of 78. [more]
The Los Angeles Times reported that Rimland, who had suffered a battle with prostate cancer, worked voraciously throughout his career to debunk the assumption that autism in children was caused by inattentive mothers.
His 1964 book "Infantile Autism: The Syndrome and Its Implications for a Neural Theory of Behavior," attacked the idea that "refrigerator mothers" -- cold and unnurturing mothers -- caused their children to go into a detached state of indifference. Rimland concluded instead that the condition, characterized by poor language skills and extreme social isolation, was the result of a biochemical defect. He also suggested that mercury in vaccines could be a culprit.
Rimland was born in Cleveland in 1928. As a child, he moved to California with his family. He earned a master's in psychology at San Diego State University before obtaining a doctorate at Pennsylvania State University.
The Times reported that Rimland's life changed dramatically with the birth of his autistic son, Mark.
Rimland is survived by his wife and his son Mark, as well as another son, Paul, and a daughter, Helen.
© 2006 UPI
