Through history

Autism and Asperger Syndrome have probably been around since the dawn of time. Now according to your mother that's just not the case and she probably says “We didn't have it in our day”. The correct response to this is “No mom, you locked people up in your day”. This unfortunately is very true, prior to 1970 if you had learning difficulties an IQ under 70 then you were deemed ineducable. With regards to the higher functioning individuals then they would have been working in engineering, education or the factories. Temple Grandin says that being bought up in the 50's and 60's was probably the best time to be autistic as the world was more black and white back then. They had rules such as 'children should be seen and not heard'. When you got caught steeling apples out of your neighbors garden they would give you a cuff around the head and you wouldn't tell your parents because they would hit you. The teachers could throw chalk or the board rubber at your head and you didn't say a word. There was no quoting the human rights act like they do now aye mom.

In her book Explaining the Enigma, Uta Frith http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0631229019?keywords=utta%20frith&qid=1443553680&ref_=sr_1_sc_1&sr=8-1-spell identifies several individuals throughout history that may have had ASD. Such as the Wild boy of Aveyron https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_of_Aveyron who originally it was believed that he was raised by wolves, research now suggests that he probably had autism. In one account they fired a gun behind his head and he did not react. To this day some parents report that their children fail basic hearing tests and the professional pronounces that their child is profoundly deaf, and mom says they are not because Billy (generic name) hears a crisp packet three miles away. Uta Frith also recounts a story of a monk in the 17^th Century who was asked to go down the road and bring back the leg of a pig, this was to help with a cure for an ill colleague. The rest of the monks when he came back became very angry with him as he had not killed the pig first which could be an indicator of someone who is very literal.

Speaking of someone who is literal, a friend of mine many years ago used to work in a factory. Every morning they would send someone out to get the newspapers and the bacon sandwiches for breakfast. This one chap said to the other “Get me the sun newspaper, if you can't get me that get me something else”, much to everyone's amusement the man returned with a pork pie.