The concept of the spectrum disorder that is known as autism was first properly recognized in the 1940s by two of the world’s first specially trained child psychiatrists, Leo Kanner and Hans Aspberger. One form of the disease, Aspberger Syndrome is actually named for the latter. The two devoted their professional careers to discovering more about the disorder and trying to educate the public about it. However, for many years it was still very much a misunderstood subject and many children went undiagnosed and untreated.

All forms of autism are usually apparent by the time a child reached three years old. As this is a spectrum disorder it affects different children in many different ways. There are three elements that are considered “classic” autism pointers; impairments in communication and restricted interests and repetitive behavior.

Perhaps one of the first times the vast majority of the American public turned their thoughts to what the term autism really meant and how people who suffered from the syndrome were affected was when Hollywood star Dustin Hoffman portrayed an autistic man Raymond Babbitt in the 1988 movie Rain Man, a role for which he won an Oscar and the movie itself won the award for Best Picture. Even though it was primarily a work of fiction Rain Man did pique public interest in autism and brought the subject into discussion on popular chat shows and in the news.

Today autism is indeed becoming a more commonly discussed subject and research into the true causes of the disease, which are still very unclear, is going on around the world every day. The disease is also highlighted more often by the media outlets that have a large youth audience. VH1, the music video channel sponsors an ongoing campaign known as Rock Autism, which has seen music stars from all genres perform at various concerts and events worldwide to raise money for, and awareness about autism. Sister station MTV has aired a number of documentaries chronicling the true life stories of people living with autism.

Actress and comedian Jenny McCarthy has become a very visible and vocal Autism advocate since her son Evan was diagnosed with the syndrome in 2005. She first spoke about this in 2007 while launching a book she wrote on the subject entitled Louder than Words: A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism.

During one such interview with talk show host Oprah Winfrey Ms. McCarthy first spoke about her belief that a MMR injection her son received at 15 months old was the trigger for his condition and that prior to that her child was developing in a normal manner. There is as of yet little in the way of scientific evidence to back up the beliefs of Ms.  McCarthy. Nevertheless a decreased incidence of children receiving the vaccination, which is designed to protect against measles, mumps and rubella, has been attributed the power of her campaign and her celebrity.