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Donald Grey Triplett: The first boy diagnosed as autistic

40 points by CarolineW 11y ago

yitchelle 11y ago
Reading this article gives me much hope for my two boys. They are both diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. I am also borderline as well. What I have observed so far aligns with the article, the surrounding community (social, education, family etc)plays a big part in having a lesser complicated life. Thanks for sharing.
- pmelendez 11y ago
  You are not alone and things go better overtime :)
  - sundvor 11y ago
    Yep. Socializing plays an enormous part in that; more over, finding friends who accept you as you are. Still, there will be hard times.
    - pmelendez 11y ago
      >Still, there will be hard times. Very true... specially when they are toddlers and their tantrums are mistaken for bad behaviour. I had hard times with my child in the winter without a car and around of very judgemental people.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
- digi_owl 11y ago
  > What I have observed so far aligns with the article, the surrounding community (social, education, family etc)plays a big part in having a lesser complicated life. And why i think this is getting noticed, and diagnosed, more now. Because the modern world, at least in the west, is dismantling those old structures. Where before the oldest generation looked after the youngest while the adults worked the fields and such nearby, now the oldest live across the nation, or even the globe, and the youngest are packed off to schools that are overcrowded and understaffed.
romanovtexas 11y ago
I am from India, and my younger brother is autistic. What the article states about the role of the surroundings and the awareness about autistic people is really true. I have been facing lots of hardships getting him into a proper school.
scardine 11y ago
My ~2 years old son was diagnosed with autism last October. Looks like it is on the good side of the spectrum, but it almost ruined my marriage - my wife didn't take it well, and we probably lost precious months arguing about his symptoms. The earlier you are diagnosed the better, so if you are suspicious, just go see a good specialist. Your family may try to talk you down: "he is just very introvert". Go se an expert neurologist anyway. In my personal experience neurologists are better at this than psychiatrists. Most shrinks asked to see me and my wife alone on the first session, these are the wrong doctors: do not waste time with anyone that refuses to see the child on the first session. Do not waste time with anyone that is not specialized in autism. Specialists may be expensive but they are worth.
- hoopism 11y ago
  "The earlier you are diagnosed the better, so if you are suspicious, just go see a good specialist. Your family may try to talk you down: "he is just very introvert". Go se an expert neurologist anyway." This. For ANY parent that suspects their child may have a learning disability or developmental delay RUN to get assistance. Many states offer early intervention to help with speech and motor delays. My daughter got into EI around 12 months old and was diagnosed with ASD at 16 months. A diagnosis unlocks therapy and therapy (ABA anyway) is largely a play based program that helps your child build skills by breaking them down into much more fundamental blocks. Speech therapy has unlocked a tremendous amount in terms of her ability to interact and communicate. A diagnosis is just a key... maybe it's wrong... maybe they will outgrow it... it doesn't matter. A diagnosis doesn't mean your child will be subject to dangerous medication or institutionalization... it just means they will get help. It kills me to see parents reluctant to get help due to stigma or refusal to acknowledge their child is struggling. There's no shame in giving your child every advantage possible.
  - rprospero 11y ago
    Just last month, at the age of thirty-three, I was officially diagnosed as autistic by the NHS. Could some things in my life have been easier if I had been diagnosed earlier? Certainly. On the other hand, out of all the diagnoses to have missed, autism was a lucky break. It's not degenerative. I didn't get more autistic from thirty years of not taking my autism meds. I was never in any danger of dying of autism. I'm not saying that hoopism did anything wrong. That is one very lucky daughter to have such an involved patent. I'm merely saying that you're not going to ruin your child's life if you don't catch it right away. It seems like parents are under a lot of pressure and I just wanted to say, as someone who has been on the other side of it, that your kids aren't going to hate you if you accidentally miss this one.
marincounty 11y ago
"The town itself played a part in Donald's excellent outcome - the roughly 3,000 people of Forest, Mississippi, who made a probably unconscious but clear decision in how they were going to treat this strange boy, then man, who lived among them. They decided, in short, to accept him - to count him as "one of their own" and to protect him." People ask, "What am I missing living on the east, or west coasts?" I might be stereotyping, but you are missing people who care, or just don't act like they care. There's a sense of morality that is just not here. (I don't want to argue with anyone. This is just my opinion.)
- CocaKoala 11y ago
  (that's a small town vs. big city divide, not a coastal vs. flyover state divide)

40 points by CarolineW 11y ago

Reading this article gives me much hope for my two boys. They are both diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. I am also borderline as well. What I have observed so far aligns with the article, the surrounding community (social, education, family etc)plays a big part in having a lesser complicated life. Thanks for sharing.

pmelendez 11y ago
You are not alone and things go better overtime :)
- sundvor 11y ago
  Yep. Socializing plays an enormous part in that; more over, finding friends who accept you as you are. Still, there will be hard times.
  - pmelendez 11y ago
    >Still, there will be hard times. Very true... specially when they are toddlers and their tantrums are mistaken for bad behaviour. I had hard times with my child in the winter without a car and around of very judgemental people.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
digi_owl 11y ago
> What I have observed so far aligns with the article, the surrounding community (social, education, family etc)plays a big part in having a lesser complicated life. And why i think this is getting noticed, and diagnosed, more now. Because the modern world, at least in the west, is dismantling those old structures. Where before the oldest generation looked after the youngest while the adults worked the fields and such nearby, now the oldest live across the nation, or even the globe, and the youngest are packed off to schools that are overcrowded and understaffed.

romanovtexas 11y ago

I am from India, and my younger brother is autistic. What the article states about the role of the surroundings and the awareness about autistic people is really true. I have been facing lots of hardships getting him into a proper school.

scardine 11y ago

My ~2 years old son was diagnosed with autism last October. Looks like it is on the good side of the spectrum, but it almost ruined my marriage - my wife didn't take it well, and we probably lost precious months arguing about his symptoms. The earlier you are diagnosed the better, so if you are suspicious, just go see a good specialist. Your family may try to talk you down: "he is just very introvert". Go se an expert neurologist anyway. In my personal experience neurologists are better at this than psychiatrists. Most shrinks asked to see me and my wife alone on the first session, these are the wrong doctors: do not waste time with anyone that refuses to see the child on the first session. Do not waste time with anyone that is not specialized in autism. Specialists may be expensive but they are worth.

hoopism 11y ago
"The earlier you are diagnosed the better, so if you are suspicious, just go see a good specialist. Your family may try to talk you down: "he is just very introvert". Go se an expert neurologist anyway." This. For ANY parent that suspects their child may have a learning disability or developmental delay RUN to get assistance. Many states offer early intervention to help with speech and motor delays. My daughter got into EI around 12 months old and was diagnosed with ASD at 16 months. A diagnosis unlocks therapy and therapy (ABA anyway) is largely a play based program that helps your child build skills by breaking them down into much more fundamental blocks. Speech therapy has unlocked a tremendous amount in terms of her ability to interact and communicate. A diagnosis is just a key... maybe it's wrong... maybe they will outgrow it... it doesn't matter. A diagnosis doesn't mean your child will be subject to dangerous medication or institutionalization... it just means they will get help. It kills me to see parents reluctant to get help due to stigma or refusal to acknowledge their child is struggling. There's no shame in giving your child every advantage possible.
- rprospero 11y ago
  Just last month, at the age of thirty-three, I was officially diagnosed as autistic by the NHS. Could some things in my life have been easier if I had been diagnosed earlier? Certainly. On the other hand, out of all the diagnoses to have missed, autism was a lucky break. It's not degenerative. I didn't get more autistic from thirty years of not taking my autism meds. I was never in any danger of dying of autism. I'm not saying that hoopism did anything wrong. That is one very lucky daughter to have such an involved patent. I'm merely saying that you're not going to ruin your child's life if you don't catch it right away. It seems like parents are under a lot of pressure and I just wanted to say, as someone who has been on the other side of it, that your kids aren't going to hate you if you accidentally miss this one.

marincounty 11y ago

"The town itself played a part in Donald's excellent outcome - the roughly 3,000 people of Forest, Mississippi, who made a probably unconscious but clear decision in how they were going to treat this strange boy, then man, who lived among them. They decided, in short, to accept him - to count him as "one of their own" and to protect him." People ask, "What am I missing living on the east, or west coasts?" I might be stereotyping, but you are missing people who care, or just don't act like they care. There's a sense of morality that is just not here. (I don't want to argue with anyone. This is just my opinion.)

CocaKoala 11y ago
(that's a small town vs. big city divide, not a coastal vs. flyover state divide)