The autism community is mourning the loss of the ground-breaking psychiatrist and physician Dr Lorna Wing OBE, who has died at the age of 85.
The author of many books on autism that have influenced professionals the world over, Wing is renowned for having questioned American psychiatrist Leo Kanner’s view of autism that it was a single, separate entity. She turned the spotlight on the research of Hans Asperger, an Austrian doctor who recorded autistic tendencies in children with a high IQ. In 1981, Wing coined the term ‘Asperger’s syndrome’. Her research work with Judith Gould led to the concept that there existed a spectrum of autistic conditions.
Wing’s lifelong commitment to autism research and supporting families impacted by the condition had its roots in the birth of her daughter, Susie, in 1956.
Wing described Susie as being restless in infancy, screaming during the night, difficult to feed and having withdrawn behavior. She was diagnosed with autism and moderate learning difficulties when she was three.
As a mother to a child with the condition, Wing documented its profound effects on her family. She recorded that when Susie reached the menopause it brought difficult behaviour: she drank huge quantities of fluid, severely diluting her blood, and in 2005 subsequently died of a heart attack at the age of 49.
Wing is known for having thrown all her professional training into autism, but her connections with other parents also had a lasting impact. In 1962, along with a group of London parents, she helped to found the National Autistic Society. Even in her later years Wing continued to advocate for families and people impacted by autism, working towards better understanding and services.
Paying tribute to Dr Lorna Wing, Francesca Happé, president of the International Society for Autism Research, said: “Everyone who studies autism and many who live or work with those with autism, know how much we owe to Lorna. Her wisdom, warmth and intellectual generosity touched so many lives, and the autism research community owes her so much.”
Published: 11 June 2014
