"Autism's First Child"

Recently, the Atlantic Monthly published an article called "Autism's First Child" by John Donvan and Caren Zucker. It is the story of Donald Triplett, age 77, the first child the renowned Dr. Leo Kanner would come to observe. Dr. Kanner, after weeks of watching Donald, began to realize that nothing in the psychiatric literature gave him any clue as to what was the reason for Donald's unusual behaviors. After working with another 10 children very similar to Donald, he finally published the now classic paper outlining the symptoms of autism. Kanner described the 11 children as having a basic inability to relate to others, failure to use language to convey meaning, and a desire to maintain 'sameness'. The children demonstrated anxiety, and all were described as having very specific and intense interests in certain objects or topics. He described how they indulged in repetitive, sometimes self destructive behaviors and preferred to be alone. Kanner noted the sometimes very good cognitive abilities, excellent memory for details and visual spatial skills, and often precocious literacy. Amazingly, Kanner also felt the condition was congenital, distinguished it from schizophrenia and noted that half of the children had unusually large head circumferences. Also, he noted some familial similarities. Some parents were very detail oriented, and some parents and siblings had experienced language delays and symptoms of autism themselves. Ear infections were noted, as were the unusual appetite and eating patterns.

Kanner, in 1943, described many of the features necessary for the diagnosis today, but very quickly, the psychiatric climate changed. With Dr. Bruno Bettleheim came the idea of "refrigerator mothers" - mothers and fathers who in their hearts, really wished their children with autism were dead. That theory was essentially debunked in the late 60s, but psychoanalysis still was insistent that these children required "play therapy" to help them renounce their anger. And many people still viewed autism as an emotional problem well into the 90s.

Imagine where we would be if all the research that has gone into autism, albeit mostly in the last few years, had started in 1943. All the descriptive information noted by Dr. Kanner would have put us ahead by light years from where we are now. Check out Donald's story - it gives one hope!

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