One Christmas Eve, Donald Triplett’s mother played Christmas carols and Donald went through the house singing them on repeat. Donald was echolalic, meaning he repeated things said to him rather than form his own words.
Donald did not like it when people rearranged furniture. Everything had to be the same to Donald, so that he could remember it later.
Triplett, now 82, lives in Forest, Miss. where he became famous in high school for being able to count exactly how many bricks were in a wall of the school’s gymnasium. Triplett has remained famous for another reason: he had the first recorded case of autism.
Journalists Caren Zucker and John Donvan told Donald’s story and the story of many others in their book “In a Different Key,” which tells the social history of autism and how it has been viewed and treated since its discovery. They stopped by the Sun Devil Fitness Complex Thursday to discuss their findings and how the stigma surrounding Autism today could be removed.
“We need people who aren’t part of the autism community to take that next step forward and embrace people who are different and say ‘I’ve got your back’,” Zucker said.
Both journalists became interested in the topic through their personal lives. Donvan’s mother-in-law fought to keep her son from being institutionalized in Israel in the late 1960s. Institutionalization of those with autism at the time was common practice internationally.
Zucker’s son was diagnosed with autism in 1996. Soon the two colleagues decided to embark to create a definitive history of Autism.
“In a Different Key” shows how the stigma surrounding Autism had slowly decreased through the years. In the 1950s, the only solution offered to many families was institutionalization.
Psychiatrists back then often said that the cause of Autism in a child was “refrigerator mothers” who didn’t love their children enough. It was not until 1975 that public schools began accepting autistic students.
Much praise was heaped upon Denise Resnik, president and board chair of First Place Phoenix, a local organization that offers services to adults with autism. “In a Different Key” acknowledges that once people with autism make it past primary education there is little help available for them outside their family, but it praises the work that is being done in Phoenix to help remedy the situation.
“In a Different Key” specifically references the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center (SARRC), which it calls one of a few “pockets of excellence” when it comes to helping adults with autism.
“It’s not overnight, we have to reach out to businesses, schools and civic organizations and tell them what autism is and that people who have it are normal members of society,” Donvan said.
Zucker acknowledged that the media still has a role to play in helping normalize autism and other mental health issues.
“In a Different Key” made reference to the fact that Autism received more coverage in the 2000’s after it was reported that MMR vaccines caused autism in kids. Scientists have since dispelled such rumors as false.
“Journalism needs to tell it like it is and not just tell stories that are exciting,” Zucker said.
Both Zucker and Donvan said that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to make autism more accepted by society and that everyone in a given community must do their part.
“It’s person-by-person,” Donvan said. “Everyone who is breathing can play a part in making life better for people with autism.”
Contact the reporter at Daniel.Perle@asu.edu.
