Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi There,
I am autistic and have an interest in the history of autism. I often wonder if autism has been around for hundreds of years but people never thought much of it back then. I think people back in the day would just look at us and think “oh he’s just quiet” or “oh she’s a bit shy but has a heart of gold” that kind of thing. I mean I never would have guessed I was autistic I really don’t feel disabled I just feel like a normal person who’s got a different mind.
is there anyone here from say the 40’s 50’s or 60’s that would like to share what being an autistic child was like back then when nobody knew what autism was? It must have been difficult feeling different but not knowing why.
I was an autistic child from the late 60s and the low needs autism I have was not even a diagnosis available then, so we were just a bit odd.
While I felt different, I had no frame of reference for what other people felt so I assumed they were similar to me, but they had just been shown how the "rule book" of society worked by their parents.
You just accepted you were a person, tried to fit in as best you could and got on with it. Having meltdowns regularly would end up with you being committed to a mental asylum as they were called then, and you would be medicated to keep you out of harms way.
I think autists either deceloped good masking skills or were quickly marginalised.
As for the older generations to me, they had often come through events like the wars and had experienced a much harsher environment growing up - my grandparents were absurdly poor by our standards yet went on to have a large family with only one breadwinner and without any benefits.
For me it was almost unimaginable and I expect for people in their teens now it would be considered a fairy story.
Mental health knowledge in general is a relatively recent evolution in our culture so it would all need to be seen through that lens.
Iain said:As for the older generations to me, they had often come through events like the wars and had experienced a much harsher environment growing up
I realised I hadn't finished that part.
What I meant was that many people, including NTs wer carrying a lifetime of traima from the experiences they had to endure.
I had an uncle who was in PTSD following suffering horrible abuse in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in Burmah (Myanmar now), and many people had other issues with abuse which was rarely caught in those days.
When the old timers say stuff like "the youth of today have it easy", they are right. We have way more laws, groups advocating us and knowledge / therapy at our disposal than ever before.