Readers weigh in on the challenges of defining and diagnosing the condition. To the Editor: Re “In New Focus on Autism, Some Worry the Spectrum Is Too Broad” (front page, Oct. 5): One thing’s for ...

In 1943, Leo Kanner, a child psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins University, identified autism as a separate disorder from schizophrenia in young children. Kanner called his newly identified disorder early ...