Donald Triplett, the first person diagnosed with autism, dies at 89

June 17, 2023 10:21 AM

Donald Gray Triplett, the first person diagnosed with autism symptoms, died Thursday, according to his longtime employer. Triplett was 89.
posted by Etrigan (29 comments total)

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posted by Kattullus at 10:29 AM on June 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

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posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:45 AM on June 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

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posted by ocschwar at 10:49 AM on June 17, 2023

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sounds like he really touched a lot of people's lives
posted by supermedusa at 10:59 AM on June 17, 2023

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I just recently learned that apparently it's still generally very difficult to be diagnosed with autism unless you can pay out of pocket for specialists. Which explains why my less than helpful state insurance psychiatrist totally ignored and totally glossed or ignored any questions I had about it.
posted by loquacious at 10:59 AM on June 17, 2023 [8 favorites]

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posted by Otherwise at 11:00 AM on June 17, 2023

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posted by terrapin at 11:08 AM on June 17, 2023

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posted by gentlyepigrams at 11:27 AM on June 17, 2023

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posted by Faint of Butt at 11:32 AM on June 17, 2023

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posted by LindsayIrene at 11:32 AM on June 17, 2023

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posted by May Kasahara at 11:33 AM on June 17, 2023

Mod note: Comment removed for being a derail from the subject of the post.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 11:38 AM on June 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

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posted by Canageek at 11:45 AM on June 17, 2023

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posted by EvaDestruction at 12:27 PM on June 17, 2023

2010 profile from The Atlantic: Autism’s First Child. (archive link)


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posted by TedW at 12:29 PM on June 17, 2023

He had a town who loved and protected him, if I recall correctly.
posted by y2karl at 1:37 PM on June 17, 2023 [3 favorites]

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posted by sciatrix at 2:27 PM on June 17, 2023

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He had a town who loved and protected him, if I recall correctly.

And a wealthy (and persistent) family that sought out a diagnosis for their child. Not much has changed - my daughter would still be waiting for a diagnosis if we didn’t have money to throw at the problem (and a very generous supplemental health insurance plan at work).
posted by clicking the 'Post Comment' button at 3:51 PM on June 17, 2023 [5 favorites]

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posted by Lesser Spotted Potoroo at 4:36 PM on June 17, 2023

I am doing my thesis on Donald.

1) He was not the first, he was not the first in America.
2) There were eleven or so people in the original survey by Kanner,and it is signifcant that we know about Donald and not about the eleven. In a sneaky follow up 30 years post, there is some eviedence that they were hidden away in asylums, private boarding schools, or other instuitons. That the history of Autism was much more lilkely to resemble Barbara K, abnother member of Kanner's cohort. Barbara was pricked by a safety pin, and then had her legitmate reactions twisted to match ideas that Kanner borrowed from grad students or people lesser than him. She would end up forever hidden away.
3) One of the things that we have to remember about KAnner and the history of Autism "science" is that it rests on damaging spectrum kids, and is often done by nurses, by grad students, and by people with less power---that the history is shady as hell. See for example: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32720104/ Calling him the first person with Autism continues this history of hype over clincial care.
4) We know about Trippet, that he was successful, was the consquences of his parents upper middle class agenda. Thinking seriously about Donald T, the more and more I am covinced that Autism as a diagnosis, exists for upper middle class people, and the casual racism and misogyny of it's history is long established--one of the consquences of Kanner was that the clinical heritage of Autistic people means that people who follow the social anad cultural practices of Trippet are more likely to be thought of as Autistic.
5) In this sense--and you can see this in Asperger's post Nazi career; or in Lovaas foundaiton in LA, and in that fucking Atlantic article, is to burnish the rep of the clinician, to make arguments about Kanner's success as a clinician.
6) I was hoping ot meet him, but i just wanted Donald to be Donald, I wanted his life without the intervention of his parents or his doctor.
7) That's all I want for Autistic people and it's the rarest thing.

Rest In Power, my forefather, let me hope that I can work with your memory in ways that restore your power.
posted by PinkMoose at 4:43 PM on June 17, 2023 [38 favorites]

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posted by JoeXIII007 at 5:01 PM on June 17, 2023

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posted by Sphinx at 5:25 PM on June 17, 2023

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I just recently learned that apparently it's still generally very difficult to be diagnosed with autism unless you can pay out of pocket for specialists.

This rimes a million. And that’s just the start. Currently involved in legal actions relating to the supports my autistic child needs. Our summer holiday this year is a full week court hearing. Fun times.
posted by inflatablekiwi at 5:30 PM on June 17, 2023 [4 favorites]

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posted by jim in austin at 5:33 PM on June 17, 2023

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posted by eirias at 8:43 PM on June 17, 2023

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posted by socialjusticeworrier at 8:16 AM on June 18, 2023

I think it's pretty clear that Donald T was not the first person diagnosed, just the first child whose case could be written up in the literature without compromising his best interests, thanks to his protective family and class background. And for all Kanner's faults, he at least took care to choose the right child for this purpose.
posted by ocschwar at 8:46 PM on June 18, 2023

Our culture and society still has a long way to go, which is not say that there hasn't been tremendous progress.
posted by euphorb at 9:08 AM on June 19, 2023

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posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 3:32 PM on June 19, 2023