Interesting comment about autism from old report

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I was doing some research and reading this behavioral report from 1965 about childhood schizophrenia and autism and came across an interesting statement:

"Almost overnight, the country seemed to be populated by a multitude of autistic children, and somehow this trend became noticeable overseas as well."

I think the time frame the statement was referring to was the 1950's. I am not sure really in what way to regard this statement - as it was seeming to imply that doctors were at that time liberally diagnosing autism - HOWEVER - the mercury crowd claims that there has been a recent "epidemic" of autism not previously seen. One of their arguements is "where are all the old autistics". I realize this is very obscure information from a lecture and not endorsing any conclusions or points the article is making but just thought it was interesting stricly in the context that there are some who consider that the diagnosis of autism in so many kids is considered "new" and due to vaccines.

Here is the link to the article: http://www.neurodiversity.com/library_kanner_1965.html

The reason why no one sees old autistics is because chances are the severe cases got thrown into Asylums. That, and everyone conviently ignores Autism after a certain age (nothing to specific. I suspect at the moment of puberty?)

Furthermore, a lot of us are recluses, so you don't see much of us.


No one sees old autistics because no one looks very hard.



(And when I say no one in this context because that's how it was brought up. None of this is that binary )

Once we get older, we learn how to hide. By hiding, I mean blending in. That's why people "don't see" old autistics. They're actually all disguised as civil engineers and computer programmers.

Perhaps it's evolution in action?

Generally even when presented with information from medical reports from the late 1800's with a doctor (Down) who worked with developmentally disabled children which pretty accurately describes kids with autistic like behaviors - they will say it is only a few kids and they were probably exposed to mercury. Then also among their arguments is to basically dismiss anyone who can walk and chew gum at the same time as being truly autistic. However - they are not being consistent because they INCLUDE all the kds diagnosed with Aspergers and PDD-NOS in their "epidemic" numbers. So they want to have it both ways - try and present autism as only representing someone who would be considered low functioning (don't like that term - but it is popular usage) yet want it to be a spectrum in order to up the numbers.

I think the points in this article may be helpful since a professional (Kanner) comments about a multitude of children appearing overnight as diagnosed with autism. And that the true history of the diagnoses of autism is muddled with other less defined psychiatric conditions like schizophrenia. And it also mentioned that in the 1960's doctors were more intent on psychological excuses so they were not trying very hard to define which catagory the child would be considered under because they felt the treatment was the same for all - psychotherapy. So - if they really want to know where the older autistics are - then they also need to look at the entire population of people considered mentally ill because labels were misapplied. And even at all - in the case of higher functioning individuals whose behavior may not have inspired any intervention. And as ridiculous as some say will say too - that autism did not exist before 1937 or 1940 (when vaccines were introduced) is simple because the label - autistic - was created about the same time. That does not mean that people on the spectrum were not throughout history.

There was a doctor in Germany back during World War II who pointed out that for some reason he was seein a lot of boys coming into his pediatric clinic with noticably autistic behaviors. His name? Hans Asperger.

P.S. In Theodore Sturgeon's 1952 novel "More Than Human," Sturgeon takes two pages out of a 200-page book ... 1% of the entire novel! - to describe his leading character, Lone ( a Depression Era homeless man when the novel opens), and explain why Lone wasn't like "other idiots" i.e. mentally ret*d people. Lone's major breakthrough was probably also only accepted because the book was published as science fiction. But Sturgeon saw what he saw and described it accurately - just without today's vocabulary.

Naah .. nothing new.

This is from a novel published in 1938. "The [builder's] idiot son was an inspired carver, and though they had to tether him to the scaffolding to prevent him coming down the quickest way when the whistle went, which which consisted in (sic?) stepping off into thin air, he was really the backbone of the business." (1)

Yeah. I don't really think in this case "idiot" = "mentally ret*d!" Sturgeon, writing in 1952, uses the same terminology but feels her has to explain it in detail.


(1) "The Sea Priestess" by Dion Fortune, p 79