Autism
Tinbergen applied his observational methods to the problems of children with autism. He recommended a "holding therapy" in which parents hold their autistic children for long periods of time while attempting to establish eye contact, even when a child resists the embrace. However, his interpretations of autistic behavior, and the holding therapy that he recommended, lacked scientific support and the therapy is described as controversial and potentially abusive.
Read more about this topic: Nikolaas Tinbergen