A History of Diagnosing Autism Autistic people have always been a part of human society. Uta Frith’s analysis of the depositions of 29 witnesses in the case of Hugh Blair, son of a Scottish landowner, who in 1747 appeared in an Edinburgh court for a decision on his mental capacity argues that Blair was autistic. John Haslam published “Observations on Madness and Melancholy” in 1809 where he describes a boy with many of the classical traits of autism.     Autism comes from the Greek ... Read more