The publication of the 1943 paper Autistic Disturbances of Affective Contact introduced the clinical classification of early infantile autism to the scientific community. By detailing the lives of eleven children who displayed a persistent obsession with sameness and a significant desire for aloneness, the study fundamentally reshaped the professional understanding of childhood psychiatric conditions during the twentieth century.
Early Education and Emigration
Born Chaskel Leib Kanner in 1894 in Klekotiv, he received his secondary education at the Sophien-Gymnasium in Berlin. His medical studies at the University of Berlin were briefly interrupted by his service in the Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I. He qualified as a physician in 1921. Facing the hyperinflation of Weimar Germany, he emigrated to the United States in 1924 to ensure his professional and personal safety.
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Upon arriving in the United States, Kanner began his work as an assistant physician at the Yankton State Hospital in South Dakota. This period marked his transition into the fields of pediatrics and psychiatry. During his four-year tenure, he published research on general paralysis, syphilis, and the impact of adrenalin on blood pressure, while also authoring his 1928 book, Folklore of the Teeth.
Leadership at Johns Hopkins
In 1928, Kanner joined the Henry Phipps Psychiatric Clinic at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Under the guidance of Adolf Meyer, he was appointed to lead the Children’s Psychiatry Service at the Harriet Lane Home, which became the first child psychiatry clinic in the United States. He authored the first English-language textbook on child psychiatry, titled Child Psychiatry, in 1935.
Social Advocacy and Legacy
Beyond his clinical research, Kanner was a dedicated activist. In 1938, he exposed a scheme involving the exploitation of state-institutionalized patients as unpaid domestic labor in Baltimore, prompting significant community reform. Prior to World War II, he also assisted in relocating hundreds of Jewish physicians to the United States. He was awarded the Thomas William Salmon Medal in 1974.
Fast facts
- Born: 1894, Klekotiv
- Died: 1981, Sykesville
- Education: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; Johns Hopkins University
- Primary Field: Child Psychiatry
- Landmark Publication: Autistic Disturbances of Affective Contact (1943)
- Book Publication: Folklore of the Teeth (1928)
- Award: Thomas William Salmon Medal (1974)
Questions readers ask
What was Leo Kanner's role in the development of child psychiatry?
He developed the first child psychiatry clinic in the United States at the Harriet Lane Home at Johns Hopkins Hospital and authored the first English-language textbook on the subject.
How did Kanner contribute to the understanding of autism?
In his 1943 paper, he identified and defined the condition he termed early infantile autism, characterized by a need for sameness and a desire for aloneness in children.
Achievements
- Thomas William Salmon Medal — 1974
- Notable work: Autistic disturbances of affective contact
- Held posts at Johns Hopkins University
- Fields: psychiatry and clinical psychiatry
