Lorna Wing

She was born Lorna Gladys Tolchard to Bernard and Gladys Tolchard in Gillingham, Kent and, following education at Chatham Grammar School for Girls, commenced medical training at University College Hospital in 1949. After qualifying as a psychiatrist, her first post was at the Institute of Psychiatry, Maudsley Hospital, London (now part of King's College London).[2]

Wing trained as a medical doctor, specialising in psychiatry. Her focus changed to childhood developmental disorders in 1959. At that time autism was thought to affect around 5 in 10,000 children, but its prevalence in the 2010s was considered to be around 1 in 100 following the awareness raised by Wing and her followers.[3] Her research, particularly with her collaborator Judith Gould, now underpins thinking in the field of autism. They initiated the Camberwell Case Register to record all patients using psychiatric services in this region of London. The data accumulated by this innovative approach gave Wing the basis for her influential insight that autism formed a spectrum, rather than clearly differentiated disorders. They also set up the Centre for Social and Communication Disorders, the first integrated diagnostic and advice service for these conditions in the UK.[4]

Wing was the author of many books and academic papers, including Asperger Syndrome: a Clinical Account, a February 1981 academic paper that popularised the research of Hans Asperger.[5][6] Although groundbreaking and influential, Wing herself cautioned in her 1981 paper that "It must be pointed out that the people described by the present author all had problems of adjustment or superimposed psychiatric illnesses severe enough to necessitate referral to a psychiatric clinic ... (and) the series described here is probably biased towards those with more severe handicaps."

She joined with other parents of autistic children to found the organisation now known as the National Autistic Society in the United Kingdom in 1962.[3] She was a consultant to NAS Lorna Wing Centre for Autism until she died.[7] She was also President of Autism Sussex.[8]

Wing met her future husband (John Wing, 22 October 1923 – 18 April 2010) while they were dissecting the same body as medical students. They married in 1951.[9] She became involved in researching developmental disorders, particularly autistic spectrum disorders following their realisation that their daughter Susie (1956–2005) was autistic.[3]

She died on 6 June 2014 in Kent.[2][10]

• NAS.org.uk – National Autistic Society