Jeanne M. Simons (1909-2005) founded the Linwood Center (then, Linwood Children’s Farm, and later, Linwood Children’s Center) in 1955. Her early work with autistic children was unprecedented. Noted as one of the pioneers in the field of autism, Miss Simons worked with Dr. Leo Kanner, who, at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, developed the first child psychiatry service in a pediatric hospital. Dr. Kanner is noted to be the first to identify the syndrome, now known as Autism Spectrum Disorder.