Recounting his observations of the children's families, Kanner noted the high level of intelligence characterizing parents and relatives, while at the same time asserting that there were few warm-hearted parents among the families he observed. He suggested that parenting might contribute to the development of autism, but he also balanced this suggestion with the observation that the aloneness of these children was present very early on, making it unlikely that the whole picture of the disorder was the result of parenting.