WEBVTT - Introducing: Autism's First Child

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<v Speaker 1>Mary and Beamon Triplet Forest, Mississippi, placed their three year

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<v Speaker 1>old son in an institution. Doctor said it was for

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<v Speaker 1>the best. Donald was different. He didn't run to his

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<v Speaker 1>father when he returned home from work, he didn't snuggle

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<v Speaker 1>his mother. In that era, scientists and academics and politicians

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<v Speaker 1>classified people like Donald as defective or deranged, a threat

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<v Speaker 1>to society. I mean, I don't think people are that

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<v Speaker 1>familiar with the fact that from really the early nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>hundreds up until the beginning of World War two, essentially

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<v Speaker 1>eugenics was really a big movement to the United States.

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<v Speaker 1>That meant judging babies like cattle or sheep in contests

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<v Speaker 1>and county affairs across the country. The triplets eventually changed

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<v Speaker 1>their mind. They brought Donald's home and then to Baltimore

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<v Speaker 1>to see a founder of child psychiatry, Dr Lee O'Connor,

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<v Speaker 1>and that visit changed history. Of course, the at the time,

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<v Speaker 1>autism wasn't even a word. Nobody knew you know about

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<v Speaker 1>it or anything. Case one Donald T. That's how he

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<v Speaker 1>appears in Dr Connor's work, And seven decades later we

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<v Speaker 1>tracked Donald T down. You got a book up there.

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<v Speaker 1>What a book? This book is that you de boom

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<v Speaker 1>about you and John, Well, it's about you, accellent, Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>actually about me. I'm Karen Zucker and I'm John don

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<v Speaker 1>Vent for us, finding Donald Triplett was a mission. We

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<v Speaker 1>had to carry out a search for living history. And

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<v Speaker 1>now you can beat him in our new podcast, Autism's

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<v Speaker 1>First Child. But when we went to Forest in search

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<v Speaker 1>of Donald, we found so much more. Well, I've always

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<v Speaker 1>known do I don't remember not knowing Don. It's all

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<v Speaker 1>we loved on. He's a most famous person. We found

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<v Speaker 1>a whole community that embraced him and learned about Donald's

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<v Speaker 1>remarkable life. It's hard not to love him. He's involved

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<v Speaker 1>in the country club. He has friends there, he has

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<v Speaker 1>friends everywhere. It's a story at the intersection of class, race,

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<v Speaker 1>and resources. It's a story about empathy and understanding and

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<v Speaker 1>a diagnosis that changed history. Listen to Autism's First Child,

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<v Speaker 1>an I Heart original podcast, starting April fourteen, on the

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<v Speaker 1>I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you find

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<v Speaker 1>your favorite shows.