Grunya Sukhareva You have been asked to deliver a speech to the United Nations highlighting the accomplishments of a person of color, woman, or someone from an underrepresented group. E-mail the name

Running head: GRUNYA SUKHAREVA 1

Grunya Sukhareva

Dorothy Pauline Browning

Keiser University

Dr.Rosa

EDU 510

March 9, 2020

Introduction

Grunya Sukhareva is a Soviet child psychiatrist born on November 11, 1891, and died on April 26, 1981. She was the first person to publish a detailed description of the symptoms of autism in 1925. The original publication was in Russian and later published in German after one year. In 1966, Sula Wolf translated the paper into English to make it readable and understandable by English speakers.

Contribution of Grunya Sukhareva

Grunya Sukhareva was the first psychiatrist to discover autism, which she initially described as “schizoid psychopathy” and later replaced it with “autistic psychopathy,”; which described the clinical image of autism. Grunya’s article was published approximately two decades before a case publication of autism from Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger , which were released . At the same time, still, Grunya Sukhareva’s work remained unacknowledged and unnoticeable. The primary reason as to why the work of Grunya remained unnoticed was due to the language and political barriers that were there at the time. The name of Grunya was transliterated as “Ssucharewa” when her publication found its way to Germany. It is also worth noting that Hans Asperger avoided citing the work of Grunya, who was from Jewish heritage, due to his connection with the Nazi Party.

Grunya left remarkable footprints while working in Kiev and Moscow as a psychiatric fro1921 and as the head of the psychiatry department at Kharkiv University. Grunya studied autistic children in approaches that have matched up to the contemporary account of autism in the DSM V. She is remembered for helping in opening schools for autistic children where they have allowed participating in activities such as woodwork, drawing, and gymnastics. In 1935, she founded the Faculty of Pediatric Psychiatry in the Central Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education. The faculty is meant to increase the awareness of autism and further help autistic children lead better lives. Grunya is also remembered for leading a clinic of childhood psychosis in 1938 that was under the SFST Ministry of Agriculture and Food in Russia. Besides, she served as a counselor and leader of the psychiatric hospital of Kashchenko in Moscow for many years.

According to Grunya, the appearance of personality disorders among teenagers and children was an indication that an important social factor was needed. Some of the factors causing personality disorders that Grunya discussed included the societal structure and an unfortunate family situation. She was the founder of the suggestion method that was used to help children with autism and other disorders. Grunya fought for the children’s rights-holding that difficult children were supposed to be sent to medical institutions and not labor camps. To enhance her fight for the rights of children, Grunya also studied PTSD from injuries sustained by children during wars.

The Moscow Department of Health ordered the Moscow Scientific and Practical Center for Mental Health of Children and Adolescents to be named after Grunya due to her significant contributions in the field of psychiatry. Currently, the center is the leading provider of specialized medical services, especially in treating suicidal states among children and adolescents. Grunya has also made many publications on psychiatric issues facing children and adolescents and the ways they can be addressed.

What can be Learned about Grunya and her Invaluable Role

Many people don’t know that Grunya was the person behind the idea of treating and handling autism. It was in 1924 when a boy was presented to Grunya for treatment. She noted that the boy was unique and different from other children of his age. After a clinical evaluation of the traits and behaviors held by the boy, Grunya found out that the boy was “an introverted type, with an autistic inclination into himself.” Autistic by then was a new adjective that was not known to many. Many researchers have ignored quoting the work of Grunya and instead prefer that of Hans Asperger and Leo Kanner. It is giving Grunya the credit of being the first researcher to identify autism and the ways through which it can be handled.

The research of Grunya did not stop when she realized that the boy presented to her was autistic. She always wanted to learn more and help humankind to address autism and other challenges facing children. She chose five more boys who had autistic behaviors and used them for research. Grunay noted that every boy was talented in a unique way and further held distinct difficulties. In 1925, Grunya decided to make a publication that gave a detailed description of the autistic features shared by the six boys. The story of Grunya was remarkable and straightforward.

Grunya faced different obstructions while trying to help children with autism and other disorders. Being a Jew, she was always living in fear in Germany as the Germans were against the Jews. One of the primary reasons as to why her work took too long to be noticed is the existence of Soviet Isolation. There are approximately 150 papers published by Grunya, and they focus on conditions such as autism, intellectual disability, and multiple personality disorders.

Conclusion

Grunya has to be remembered for her invaluable role in pioneering psychiatry studies that have helped many children and teenagers. She dedicated her whole life to serving others, and she deserves to be recognized. Her life was unselfish, and she was always there to help children and fight for their rights, which not observed at that time. Grunya did not only contribute to the field of psychological disorders affecting children but also in child-rearing. Those who knew Grunya always have a positive thing to say about her invaluable efforts and role to better human society.

References

Posar, A., & Visconti, P. (2017). Tribute to Grunya Efimovna Sukhareva, the woman who first described infantile autism. Journal Of Pediatric Neurosciences, 12(3), 300. doi: 10.4103/jpn.jpn_46_17

Zeldovich, L. (2020). How history forgot the woman who defined autism. Retrieved 9 March 2020, from https://www.spectrumnews.org/features/deep-dive/history-forgot-woman- defined-autism/