Introduction: the autism matrix -- The puzzle of variation in autism rates -- The feebleminded -- The surveillance of childhood -- Deinstitutionalization -- "An existence as close to the normal as possible": normalization -- Childhood schizophrenia -- Bernard Rimland and the formation of NSAC -- The atypical children -- Asperger and neurodiversity -- The space of autism therapies and the making and remaking of the spectrum -- Conclusion.