This possibly refers to autistic children in the 1930s

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The chapter on childhood ailments in 'The Hygiene of Life and Safer Motherhood', published in London in the 1930s has an entry on "Cretinism".

"Cretin is the name given to a child in whom the thyroid gland is absent, or has not developed. The thyroid gland consists of two oval bodies, one lying on each side of the windpipe in the neck." This gland secretes blood which is necessary for normal growth in a child. "When this secretion is absent, the growth of the bones practically ceases. The child lies unnaturally quiet in his cot, and makes few of the little movements we look for in a normal baby. He is unresponsive, and shows little inclination to do many of the things that ordinary babies take a pleasure in doing. His speech has been long in coming and he learns with difficulty to say a few single words. He is late in learning to use his hands, in sitting up, standing and walking, and learning clean habits. He scarcely ever laughs and rarely cries in a good healthy way. In most caes he will have a habit of keeping his tongue protruded between his lips."

Treatment involves giving the child thyroid extract regularly for several years.

It is possible that some autistic children were labelled as cretins.

The entry on mental deficiency describes it as a failure of intelligence. It ranges "from those cases where the child is unable to acquire the simplest control or thinking power, right up to those children who just fail to reach the normal standard of intelligence."

Special classes and special schools provide opportunities for developing these children's latent potential, and all their brain power can be utilised to make their lives happy, and if possible useful.

There is no mention in the book of the terms 'idiot, 'imbecile' or 'moron' which were contemporary terms for mentally ret*d people/people with learning difficulties.

I don't suppose you could scrouge for the actual year of publication could you, Woodpeace? If it's early 30's that could be VERY useful!

Not all Auties are Creties topic

Cretinism Article.

Some Creties might be Auties, but the terms are not synonymous. This is a good introductory article about hypothyroidism, which used to be termed Cretinism.

The edition of that book as described here: http://antiqbook.co.uk/boox/bailga/153-1161.shtml was published by New Age Books c 1925. The edition described here: http://www.antiqbook.co.uk/boox/lit/28866.shtml was published by British Books Ltd in 1934. The edition from which I quoted was published by New Age Books, but it has a photograph of Franklin Roosevelt. As he was little known outside the United States before 1932, I assume that it was published no earlier than 1932.

A Google search for cretinism autism produces about 13,300 results.

Thanks, Woodpeace!

I have a great-aunt who was diagnosed with cretinism when it was called that. She wasn't autistic though. Just what they called "slow" at the time.

I wonder how much Kanner knew about Cretinism when he did his work on Autism?

Congenital hypothyroidism also has a lot of obvious physical characteristics, most autistic people do not have these characteristics.

Height being the most obvious. While some people with it are within the short end of the normal height range, most are not. The adult height range for people with it is 3 ft 3 in (1m) to 5 ft 3 in (1.6m). And presumably the people at the taller end of that range are male, making them still well below normal height.