Pov. (2002, January 18). History of Autism Blame: REFRIGERATOR Mothers: POV: PBS. POV. http://archive.pov.org/refrigeratormothers/fridge/.

University of Rochester

In the 1950s-1960s, Autism was blamed on bad and detached mothers, dubbed “refrigerator mothers”. This sprouted from the theories of Leo Kanner, where he described autistic children as being reared in emotional refrigerators due to lack of parental warmth. However, he studied this in a small population of white, educated families that displayed this detachment, making his assumption incorrectly over-generalized. Regardless, Kanner’s “refrigerator mother” theory prevailed for a long time, pushed into the limelight by popular professor Bruno Bettelheim’s public endorsement. 

ASD in the 1950s-1960s: Refrigerator Mothers

History of Autism Blame: REFRIGERATOR Mothers: POV: PBS

Bottema-Beutel cites Bruno Bettelheim as a primary example of historical psychological frameworks that blame parents for childhood conditions. By referencing his 1972 work, "The Empty Fortress: Infantile Autism and the Birth of the Self", the text identifies Bettelheim as a key figure in establishing a clinical tradition where a child's condition is attributed to the failures or actions of the parents rather than biological or neurological factors. This historical context creates a legacy of blame that modern caregivers must actively navigate when interacting with mental health systems to avoid being implicated in their child's behavior.

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