Families, especially mothers, were wrongly blamed for autism.
Parents asked for help and were told they were the cause.
The refrigerator mother theory claimed that autism was caused by cold, emotionally distant mothers.
It was wrong, harmful and unsupported. Yet it shaped professional thinking for years and caused enormous pain to families.
Parents who needed support were given blame. Mothers were made to feel responsible for their child's neurology. Children were misunderstood through a false theory.
This is one of the clearest examples of professional certainty causing harm when it is built on bad assumptions.
Awareverse must stand against parent blame where it replaces proper understanding.
Families can need support, but blaming them for a child's neurodevelopment is not support. It is harm.