Donald Triplett, the first person ever diagnosed with autism, passed away on May 4th, 2021 at the age of 89. His passing marks the end of an era in the history of autism research and advocacy.
Triplett was born in 1933 in Forest, Mississippi. He was the son of a successful banker and his wife, and grew up in a comfortable, middle-class home. However, from a young age, it was clear that Triplett was different from other children. He struggled with social interactions and communication, and had a tendency to repeat certain behaviors and phrases over and over again.
In the 1940s, when Triplett was a child, autism was not yet recognized as a distinct disorder. Instead, children like Triplett were often labeled as “mentally retarded” or “emotionally disturbed.” It wasn’t until 1943 that a psychiatrist named Leo Kanner published a paper describing a group of children who shared many of the same characteristics as Triplett. Kanner called this condition “early infantile autism.”
Triplett’s parents were determined to get him the help he needed, and they took him to see Kanner at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Kanner spent several weeks observing Triplett and conducting tests, and ultimately diagnosed him with autism.
Triplett’s diagnosis was groundbreaking. It was the first time that anyone had used the term “autism” to describe a specific set of symptoms and behaviors. Kanner’s paper sparked a wave of interest in the condition, and over the next few decades, researchers began to study autism more closely.
Triplett himself went on to live a relatively normal life. He attended college at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, and later worked as a clerk at his father’s bank. He never married or had children, but he remained close with his family and enjoyed spending time with his nieces and nephews.
In recent years, Triplett became something of a celebrity in the autism community. He was featured in several documentaries and news stories about the history of autism, and he even appeared on the television show “60 Minutes” in 1985. Despite his fame, however, Triplett remained humble and unassuming, and he never sought attention for himself.
Triplett’s passing is a reminder of how far we have come in our understanding of autism, but also of how much work there is still to be done. While we now have a much better understanding of the condition than we did in the 1940s, there is still much that we don’t know. Autism remains a complex and often misunderstood disorder, and there is still a great deal of stigma and misinformation surrounding it.
However, Triplett’s life is also a testament to the resilience and strength of people with autism. Despite the challenges he faced, he was able to live a full and meaningful life, and he inspired countless others along the way. As we continue to work towards a better understanding of autism, we can look to Triplett as an example of what is possible when we approach the condition with compassion and understanding.
