24 September 2009

"Dr. Leon Eisenberg, Pioneer in Autism Studies, Dies at 87"

Dr. Leon Eisenberg, advocate and researcher, died of prostate cancer at his home last week.

Eisenberg was one of the first to connect language problems to the diagnosis of ASDs. He also participated in early research on behavioral drugs like Ritalin for the treatment of ADHD. At the time, his work was controversial because it contradicted the popular Freudian psychoanalytic approach to these conditions. A professor at Johns Hopkins University described Eisenberg as "the pivotal person in 20th-century child psychiatry who moved the field from simple descriptions of childhood disorders to actually looking at the science behind both the diagnosis and treatment."

Harvard Medical School, for which Eisenberg designed the Social Medicine program, lowered its flags to half-staff last week to honor this extraordinary man. He is survived by his wife, four children, and six grandchildren.

No comments: