Documentary about Asperger

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Gillberg's AS criteria has the possibility of a speech delay; it's what Professor Attwood uses.

An "aspie" is doing really well if he/she works; most don't work.

A minority of individuals achieves some independence in self-care and gainful employment, but most tend to live at home, hold no job, and have few or no friends.

My personal view:

IF there is a speech delay, AS should be ruled out automatically.

beau99,

Some of Kanner's original children spoke on time.

I'll admit - I was a little disappointed by the show. In fairness, I was distracted by something I was working on, so I was kind of in and out. But I felt myself wishing it were more like a Nova special on Asperger's than this sort of "personal journey". When they showed the support group, I thought to myself how much I'd like to hear their stories. I didn't feel any empathy for the guy, so he just didn't hold my attention. (Seriously, who puts their trash in a cup and lays it on top of a phone booth as they walk by, despite all of the trash cans in the vicinity?)

There were definitely pieces here and there that I related to, but I just couldn't get past the fact that I thought the guy was a douchebag. Maybe I'll catch it again this weekend so that I can see it without the distraction.

Eight of the eleven children acquired the ability to speak either at the usual age or after some delay. Three (Richard, Herbert, Virginia) have so far remained “mute.” In none of the eight “speaking” children has language over a period of years served to convey meaning to others. They were, with the exception of John F., capable of clear articulation and phonation. Naming of objects presented no difficulty; even long and unusual words were learned and retained with remarkable facility. Almost all the parents reported, usually with much pride, that the children had learned at an early age to repeat an inordinate number of nursery rhymes, prayers, lists of animals, the roster of presidents, the alphabet forward and backward, even foreign-language (French) lullabies. Aside from the recital of sentences contained in the ready-made poems or other remembered pieces, it took a long time before they began to put words together. Other than that, “language”consisted mainly of “naming,”of nouns identifying objects, adjectives indicating colors, and numbers indicating nothing specific.

Their excellent rote memory, coupled with the inability to use language in any other way, often led the parents to stuff them more and more verses, zoologic and botanic names, titles and composers of Victrola record pieces, and the like. Thus, from the start, language-which the children did not use for the purpose of communication-was deflected in a considerable measure to a self-sufficient, semantically and conversationally valueless or grossly distorted memory exercise. To a child 2 or 3 years old, all these words, numbers, and poems (“questions and answers of the Presbyterian Catechism”; “Mendelssohn’s violin concerto”; the “Twenty-third Psalm”; a French lullaby; an encyclopedia index page) could hardly have more meaning than sets of nonsense syllables to adults. It is difficult to know for certain whether the stuffing as such has contributed essentially to the course of the psychopathologic condition. But it is also difficult to imagine that it did not cut deeply into the development of language as a tool for receiving and imparting meaningful messages.

As far as the communicative functions of speech are concerned, there is no fundamental difference between the eight speaking and the three mute children, Richard was once overheard by his boarding mother to say distinctly, “good night.”Justified skepticism about this observation was later dispelled when this “mute”child was seen in the shaping his mouth in silent repetition of words when asked to say certain things. “Mute” Virginia-so her cottage mates insisted-was heard repeatedly to say, "Chocolate", "Marshmallow", "Mama", “Baby.”

Follow-up Study of Eleven Autistic Children Originally Reported in 1943
Leo Kanner
John Hopkins University School of Medicine

The destinies of the eleven children first reported in 1943 as suffering from autistic disturbances of affective contact are brought up to date. Their life histories are summarized succinctly in terms of developmental data, family constellations, clinical observations in the course of the years, the varieties of professional planning and present status. Attention is called to the subsequent scientific studies of early infantile autism and ever-increasing facilities for research nosology, biochemical and general systemic implication, and therapeutic amelioration. The need for continued follow-up of autistic children is emphasized.

The June 1943 issue of the now extinct journal The Nervous Child carried a paper entitled “Autistic disturbances of affective contact”; the first 24 pages told about 11 children who had in common a pattern of behavior not previously considered in its startling uniqueness; this was followed by 9 pages of discussion and comment. An introductory paragraph concluded with the sentence: “Since none of the children of this group has as yet attained an age beyond 11 years, this must be considered a preliminary report, to be enlarged upon as the patients grow older and further development is made.”

Twenty-eight years have elapsed since then. The periodical in which the article was printed has been out of circulation for a long time.

The patients were between 2 and 8 years old when first seen at Children’s Psychiatric Clinic of the Johns Hopkins Hospital. What has become of them? What is their present status?

[Page 120 is missing it includes the beginning of the description of "Case 1"]

(page 121)
...referring to Donald as “a concentrated child mentally” and surmised that “he might have some glandular disease.”

The father, whom Donald resembled physically, was “a successful, meticulous, hardworking lawyer, who takes everything very seriously ... When he walks down the street, he is so absorbed in thinking that he sees nothing and nobody and cannot remember anything about the walk.” The mother, a college graduate, was a calm, capable person to whom her husband felt superior. A second child, a boy was born on May 22, 1938.

At the Clinic, Donald was found to be in good physical condition. He was placed for 2 weeks at the Child Study Home of Maryland for an intensive observation by Drs. Eugenia S. Cameron and George Frankl. After this, Donald came back three times for a checkup. Space does not allow our even coming close to the minutely recorded data in the Clinic files and in the frequent letters sent by and to the mother who, while her husband had functioned as a reliable historian, became the active participant in the child’s management. Suffice it to say that the father’s description could be confirmed. Donald wandered about smiling, making stereotyped movements with his fingers, shaking his head from side to side, humming the same three-not tune. He spun with great pleasure any he could seize upon to spin. Most of his actions were repetitious carried out the same way each time. He kept parroting what he had heard said to him, using the personal pronouns for the persons quoted, even to the point of imitating their intonation.

In 1942, his parents placed him on a tenant farm about 10 miles from their home. When I visited there in May 1945, I was amazed at the wisdom of the couple who took care of him. they managed to give him goals for his sterotypies. The made him use his preoccupation with measurements by having him dig a well and report its depth. When he kept collecting dead birds and bugs, they gave him a spot for a “graveyard” and had him put up markers; on each he wrote a first name, the type of animal as a middle name, and the farmer’s last name, e.g., “John Snail Lewis. Born, date unknown. Died, (date on which he found the animal).” When he kept counting rows of corn over and over, they had him count the rows while plowing them. On my visit, he plowed six long rows, it was remarkable how well he handled the horse and plow and turned the horse around. It was obvious that Mr. and Mrs. Lewis were very fond of him and just as obvious that they were gently firm. He attended a country school where his peculiarities were accepted and where he made good scholastic progress.

The rest of the story is contained in a letter from the mother, dated April 6, 1970:
“Don is now 36 years old, a bachelor living at home with us. He had an acute attack of rheumatoid arthritis in 1955. Fortunately, this lasted only a few (page 122) weeks. Physically, since that time, he has been in perfect health... Since receiving his A.B. degree in 1958, he has worked in the local bank as a teller. He is satisfied to remain a teller, having no real desire for promotion. He meets the public there real well. His chief hobby is golf, playing four or five times a week at the local country club. While he is no pro, he has six trophies won in local competition . ... Other interests are Kiwanis Club (served as president one term), Jaycees, Investment Club, Secretary of Presbyterian Sunday School. He is dependable, accurate, shows originality in editing the Jaycee program information, is even-tempered but has a mind of his own. ... He owns his second car, likes his independence. His room includes his own TV, record player, and many books. In College his major was French and he showed a particular aptitude for languages. Don is a fair bridge player but never initiates a game. Lack of initiative seems to be his most serious drawback. he takes very little part in social conversation and shows no interest in the opposite sex.

“While Don is not completely normal, he has taken his place in society very well, so much better than we ever hoped for. If he can maintain status quo, I think he has adjusted sufficiently to take care of himself. For this much progress, we are truly grateful. .... Please give Dr. Kanner our kindest regards. Tell him the couple Don lived with for 4 years, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis are still our friends. We see them quite often. Don has never had any medication for his emotional trouble. I wish I knew what his inner feelings really are. As long as he continues as he is now, we can continue to be thankful.”

Case 2

Frederick Creighton (“Wikky”) W. was seen on May 29, 1942, one week before his sixth birthday. This is an abstract of his mother’s complaint statement:
“He has always been self-sufficient: I have never known him to cry demanding attention. He was never very good with cooperative play. Until last year, he acted as if people weren’t there. About a year ago, he began showing more interest in observing them, but usually people are an interference. to a certain extent he likes to stick to the same thing. On one of the bookshelves we had three pieces of a certain arrangement. Whenever this was changed, he always rearranged it in the same pattern. ... He had at least two words before he was 2 years old. Between 2 and 3 years, he would say words that seemed to come as a surprise to himself. One of the first words he said was “overalls”. ... At about 2 1/2 years, he began to sing. He sang about 20 or 30 songs, including a little French lullaby. In his fourth year, I tried to make him ask for things before he’d (page 123) get them. He was stronger willed than I and held out longer; he would not get it but he would never give in. ... Now he can count up in to the hundreds and can read numbers, but he is not interested in learning proper use of personal pronouns. When receiving a gift, he would say to himself: “You say, ‘Thank you.’”

He was delivered by elective Caesarean section 2 weeks before term because the mother had “some kidney trouble.” He was well at birth. Feeding presented no problem. His mother never saw him assume an anticipatory posture when she came to pick him up. He sat at 7 months and walked at 18 months.

Wikky was an only child. His father, a plant pathologist, was “a patient, even-tempered man” who as a child did not talk “until late” and was “delicate.” The mother, “healthy and even-tempered,” had been a secretary, a purchasing agent, and at one time a teacher of history. She was 34 and her husband was 38 years old when their son was born.
...

Ordinary vocabulary at 2 years. but always slow at putting words into sentences. Phenomenal ability to spell, read, and a good writer, but still has difficulty with verbal expression. Written language has helped the verbal.

Attracter by a pen on the desk stand, she said: “Pen like yours at home.”Then, seeing a pencil, she inquired: “May I take this home?”
When told that she might, she made no move to take it. The pencil was given to her, but she shoved it away, saying, “It’s not my pencil.”

Check out Barbara K.