Happy Halloween! Well, maybe it's a Happy Halloween to you, but it's not for me. I've never liked this haunting holiday. So, there. I've come out & said it. I don't like Halloween! Now, having said that, if you're a Halloween-loving person, that's no biggie. In fact, one of my closest friends has a Halloween birthday & I just love her excitement around this frightful day. But, for me, Halloween just isn't my day. And that's okay, too. This Is Why:
I don't dislike everything about Halloween, so this is what I do like about the holiday:
Halloween Challenges For Autistic People:
How You Can Help:
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Donald Triplett (otherwise known as Case 1), the first person in the world to ever be clinically diagnosed with autism, lost his battle to cancer last week, at the age of 89. (Donald Gray Triplett's obituary) Don lived the entirety of his life in the rural town of Forest, Mississippi & was blessed to live in a community where he was nurtured, accepted, & loved by all who knew him. He was accepted for being exactly who he was, differences, quirks, & all, & was often described as "a great guy" by others who lived in his community. Don was a deeply introverted child who did not respond to his parents' gestures or voices, did not play or interact with other children, had his own way of using the English language, had a fascination with spinning objects, & was very distant from others, living in his own little world apart from his family & the rest of society. However, Don also had many special abilities, was extremely intelligent, & was always listening & learning. His interests included number patterns, music notes, letters of the alphabet, & the presidents of the United States. According to his father, when he was only a year old, Don "could hum & sing many tunes accurately." At two & a half years old, he sang entire Christmas carols, in perfect pitch, that he only heard his mother sing once. He could also perform rapid two & three digit mental multiplication, giving you the answer faster than you could get it on a calculator. However, this did not prevent him from being institutionalized. Don grew up during a time where doctors ordered parents of children who were not "normal" to put their children in an institution. This was so that the parents could try to forget their child & move on with their lives. So, this is what Beamon & Mary Triplett did in August 1937, when Don was just three years old. However, his parents visited him monthly & absolutely did not forget about Don. Despite the institution’s director trying to talk them out of it, Don's parents pulled him out just one year later, in August 1938. They recognized Don's gifts & wanted to do what they could to help their son live a happy & productive life. His parents first brought Don to Baltimore to see Austrian child psychiatrist Dr. Leo Kanner in October 1938. After several more visits with Don & seeing more children with similar behavior patterns, Dr. Kanner diagnosed Donald with autism in 1943. Donald was the first person in the world to receive this diagnosis, leading the world in the study of the complexities of autism & offering hope to families. Not only did Don graduate from high school (where he was accepted by his teachers & classmates); but in 1958; he graduated from Millsaps College; in Jackson, MS; where he was a part of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity & studied French & math. Don learned how to drive in his late-twenties, worked at a local bank that was partially owned by his father for sixty-five years, & lived in his own house (the house he grew up in). His hobbies were playing golf (which he did every day) & traveling by himself around the world. John Donvan & Caren Zucker interviewed Donald Triplett & those who knew him, chronicling his life story for an article in The Atlantic entitled Autism's First Child. In the video below, the authors tell the story behind their article, including how the tracked Don down.
Don was later featured in the book, In A Different Key, which was later adapted into a PBS documentary.
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AuthorHello! My name is Kim, I didn't know I was autistic until I was in my thirties, & this is my story. Categories
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