But his insistence that his syndrome was rare was decidedly premature. Kanner was one of very few child psychiatrists in the country at that point, and he had already seen thirteen cases that fit the pattern (the original eleven, plus two more mentioned in a footnote), and he would soon see seven more. Plus, families of limited means—who couldn’t afford to make the rounds of pediatricians, psychologists, and neurologists until they were referred to a specialist like him—weren’t even on his radar. Furthermore, if his syndrome had less blatantly disabling forms—as most developmental disabilities
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