How were "refrigerator moms" treated by society when this theory was popular?

[Ameriblush]

I recently delved a bit more into the abandoned theory from the 1940s that autism was somehow caused by mothers being distant and uncaring by their children.

It's a messed up theory, and I can only imagine the torment the parents went through by their community. I feel like there are even misogynist elements since the original text quoted both parents as being poor caregivers, but the blame seemed to have shifted mostly to the women in the relationship. What the freak???
But for some reason, it's super hard to find any first person anecdotes or a more in depth explanation of how the women were truly treated other than "they were severely affected by the community". I'm curious, and desperate for some more information.

 

[Judge]

Wow. Good luck finding much of anything given the time frame. I'm guessing that in the 40s, much like the 50s autism was virtually unknown to society at large. I didn't even know autism existed until I heard about it in the late 60s through an episode of "Marcus Welby M.D.". I still remember asking my mother who was also watching at the time, and she didn't really understand it herself. Even back then there were no media stories about autism. Not even malicious jokes that were pervasive when it came to racism and homophobia.

Sure, no doubt autistic people suffered at the hands of those who didn't understand them. But if it wasn't publicly understood at the outset, there's not much reason to assume people can recollect of those times to intelligently comment on them either.

Go back in time so far and Autism was simply unknown to most people outside the realm of medical science. Which sadly included the psychiatrist who diagnosed my own social anxiety, depression and OCD. But autism? No. Nada. My guess would be to pursue such data you need to do it through medical journals of the time knowing it may be limited in both quantity and quality.

I find it frightening to try to imagine what life on the spectrum must have been like for those brought up in a society where for most people it simply didn't exist only because it wasn't understood even in the most cursory manner. But then wait a minute. That's almost my own life's story.

At least we know Kanner's original theories were effectively debunked by himself and others. In that respect perhaps there's no need to seek the perspective of those who lived in those times.

 

[tree]

"In 1969, at a Washington D.C. meeting for the National Society for Autistic Children, Kanner gave a speech where he stated that he acquitted the parents and insisted that the condition of autism was innate."
Early Infantile Autism and the Refrigerator Mother Theory (1943-1970) | The Embryo Project Encyclopedia

Refrigerator mother theory - Wikipedia
There are many references in the footnotes, but not from the point of view of the mother, it seems.
The “Refrigerator Mother” Hypothesis of Autism
Symptoms and Behavior Problems of Adolescents and Adults with Autism: Effects of Mother–Child Relationship Quality, Warmth, and Praise

'No longer the abjected “refrigerator mother,” today’s “autism mom” is supposed to be a child-saving hero, expected and encouraged to do anything and everything in pursuit of normalcy, from special diets to special schools, from medications to therapeutic toys.'
Mothers and Autism: The Evolution of a Discourse of Blame, Apr 15 - AMA Journal of Ethics (formerly Virtual Mentor)

As much material as there is available, there seems to be
a shortage of first person accounts by the so-called
refrigerator mothers themselves.

 

[Katleya]

It's just a hypothesis, but perhaps some of the so-called "refrigerator moms" had autism themselves, and didn't show caring in the stereotypical, expected way.
If so, I'm thinking there may have been a good possibility that these particular ones weren't actively taking part in society to begin with, making the question of being shunned by society a "chicken & egg" thing.