Every day is a school day…
In other words, I learned something today.
Today I learned that the first individual identified as “autistic” is still alive. His name is Donald Triplett and he’s 89 years old.
Think about that. What does that say about humanity’s historical understanding of autism and why prevalence may appear to have been exponentially increasing recently…?
Our understanding of autism dates back to the early 20th century, although it was not until the 1940s that the condition was officially recognized and given the name “autism.” Over the years, our understanding has evolved significantly, as has our approach to diagnosis.
The earliest known observations, of what we now recognize as autism, date back to the 18th and 19th centuries. However, it wasn’t until the early 20th century that doctors, and scientists began to study the condition more closely. In 1911, Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler used the term “autism” to describe a group of symptoms that he saw in some of his patients with schizophrenia. The term “autism” comes from the Greek word “autos,” which means “self,” and refers to the tendency of people with the disorder to be focused inwardly.
In the 1940s, psychiatrist Leo Kanner began studying a group of children who had similar symptoms to those described by Bleuler. He published a paper in 1943 that described eleven children who had difficulty with social interaction, communication, and repetitive behaviours. Kanner called the condition “early infantile autism.” It was Leo Kanner, who diagnosed Donald Triplett.
However, Kanner’s work was criticized by some who believed that the disorder was caused by poor parenting, rather than a biological condition. Unsurprisingly, it was mothers who were singled out for blame — “The Refrigerator Mother theory”. Whilst this has thankfully (mainly) been debunked, there are still proponents of this theory, just like there are still people who erroneously believe that vaccination is the cause.
It wasn’t until the 1960s and 1970s that the medical community began to recognize autism as a distinct disorder. In 1965, Bernard Rimland, a psychologist and parent of an autistic child, founded the Autism Society of America to raise awareness of the disorder and provide support for families.
In the 1970s, researchers began to explore the biological basis of autism. They discovered that autism is a neurological disorder that affects the way the brain processes information. In the 1980s, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) officially recognized autism as a distinct disorder and included it in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III).
Over the years, our understanding of autism has continued to evolve. We now know that autism is a spectrum disorder, which means that it affects individuals in diverse ways and to varying degrees. We also know that early diagnosis and intervention are critical for helping autistic individuals reach their full potential.
Today, autism is estimated to affect approximately 1 in 54 children — effectively 2% of the population. By definition, this means that there must be a similar ratio for adults — most of whom will be undiagnosed and possibly have no idea that they are autistic. For these people, like me, diagnosis wasn’t even available during our childhood. So that begs the question, has prevalence increased or are we actually now discovering what was always there?
While there is still much to learn about autism, our growing understanding of the disorder is helping to improve the lives of autistic individuals.
