Autism’s First Child

Fitter Families

Born in 1933, Donald T. of Forest, Mississippi exhibits strange behaviors that neither his parents, Beamon and Mary, nor doctors can understand. It’s the Eugenics era, when people who are different are considered degenerates, imbeciles, and threats to society best kept locked away in institutions. Beamon and Mary have other ideas.See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Note: Donald Triplett passed away on June 15, 2023. He was 89. Donald lived a full and happy life in Forest, Mississippi, and will be missed by many. This podcast is a tribute to his life and legacy.
Autism's First Child traces the history of autism through the first person ever diagnosed, and the rural community that helped raise him. Named “Case 1” in 1943, Donald Triplett was in and out of an institution and spent time with history’s most important child psychiatrist by the time he was five. But he went on to live nearly nine happy decades in Forest, Mississippi. What can his story teach us about creating a better world for those who are “different”?