Why "Refrigerator" Mothers Were Blamed for Autism

The term "refrigerator mother" was coined by Austrian psychiatrist Leo Kanner in the 1940s to describe a mother whose cold, uncaring style so traumatized her child that they retreated into autism. The concept caused enormous pain for many families for decades before it was debunked.

Origin of the "Refrigerator Mother" Theory

Sigmund Freud, the father of modern psychology, believed that almost all psychological issues stemmed from early childhood trauma. Autism was believed to be a form of mental illness, and so it was logical to assume that it was caused by early trauma.

Later, as Kanner and Nazi autism expert Hans Asperger began to explore the disorder, they worked almost primarily with upper-class parents whose self-presentation may have appeared formal and cold. Though Kanner believed that autism was probably innate in the child, he also noted an apparent coldness on the part of his patients' mothers and assumed that this added to the problem.

It is important to note that both Sigmund Freud's and Hans Asperger's work have been debunked and marked as illegitimate due to the strong influence their biases had on their flawed science.

How Bruno Bettelheim Popularized the Concept

Bruno Bettelheim, a renowned professor of child development in his time, was most prominent between the 1940s and the 1970s. He was a great self-promoter, and often cited in the media. He took hold of the idea of the refrigerator mother and likened these parents to guards in a Nazi concentration camp.

Bettelheim's book, "The Empty Fortress: Infantile Autism and the Birth of the Self," along with his appearances on national prime-time television shows and in popular magazines, helped turned the concept of the "refrigerator" mother into a popularly accepted idea.

Debunking the Theory

Bernard Rimland, the late founder and director of the Autism Research Institute, is credited with debunking this myth. As the parent of an autistic child, he had a vested interested in exploring and better understanding causes of autism, and in erasing the popular concept that poor parenting was to blame.

His research, along with his work in bringing parents together as self-advocates, changed thinking about the roots of autism. By the early 1970s, the idea of "refrigerator mothers" was no longer accepted, and parenting approaches were no longer the focus of research into the causes of autism.

Today, it is generally agreed that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is unrelated to "cold mothering" and is simply one presentation of neurodivergence.

A Word From Verywell

Advocating for autistic people is hard work in our ableist society, and, despite the fact the that notion of "bad parenting" as a cause has been debunked, many parents still feel guilty when their child receives a diagnosis. Because no one knows for sure what causes ASD, it's easy to worry that you may have contributed in some way.

It's important to understand that you can certainly be a loving and accepting force in your child's life, but you can't cause, prevent, or cure your child's autism. Autism is not an illness or disease, and autistic children and adult thrive when they are embraced as their full selves.