From the pre-naming era
to the 2025 inflection.
Autistic people existed long before "autism" did. This is the autistic-led timeline that journalists, researchers, and parents cite — past, present, and what we're building next.
History (pre-1990)
The historical record. Pre-naming era (1700s–1900) · The clinical naming (1908–1943) · ABA foundations (1960s–1980s). Pre-our-lifetime context for everything since.
Read the history → 02Present
The 1990s–2020s pushback (Sinclair, Singer, ASAN, identity-first, #ActuallyAutistic) + the 2020s–now inflection (subtypes research, IACC turmoil, I-ACC, FOX5 Las Vegas, Autism Acceptance World arrives). Within our lifetime.
Read the present → 03Future
Where this is going: precision support, full acceptance, autistic-led research becoming standard, policy wins ahead, Autism Acceptance World's role.
Read the future →Glossary + Statistics
Looking up a term, a number, a citation? Two more references that go with the movement section.