Donald Triplett, the pioneering case of autism diagnosis as a child who later became an influential case study on finding fulfillment with autism, passed away on Thursday at his residence in Forest, Mississippi, at the age of 89. The cause of his death was cancer, according to his nephew, O.B. Triplett. Over the years, the prevalence of autism diagnosis has been steadily rising, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting that one in 36 children now have the condition compared to one in 110 in 2006.
The exact reason for this increase is still a subject of debate. However, it is without a doubt that our modern understanding of autism can be attributed to Mr. Triplett’s childhood experiences. Born on September 8, 1933, in Forest, Donald Gray Triplett seemed to exist in a world separate from his family and society. He displayed a lack of response towards others, including children, figures like Santa Claus, and even his mother’s smiles. Donald had a unique connection with language, utilizing it in ways that hinted at hidden meanings and assigning numbers arbitrarily to people he encountered. He often repeated enigmatic phrases like “I could put a little comma or semicolon” and “through the dark cloud shining.” Additionally, he exhibited a compulsion for repetitive behaviors, such as spinning objects like cooking pans. If disrupted, he would throw destructive tantrums.
Despite these challenges, Donald possessed baffling abilities. He could effortlessly answer complex multiplication problems and had perfect pitch, enabling him to sing songs after hearing them just once. Rumors circulated that he had even calculated the number of bricks on his high school facade with just a glance.
In August 1937, Donald’s parents enrolled him in a state-run children’s facility called Sanatorium in Mississippi, where he spent his days in listless and unresponsive states. Typically, children with severe psychological issues were permanently institutionalized during this era. However, after approximately a year, his parents decided to bring him back home and sought the expertise of Dr. Leo Kanner in Baltimore.
Dr. Kanner, the founder of the first child psychiatry clinic in the United States at Johns Hopkins University, initially struggled to define Donald’s condition. However, using Don as his first case, Dr. Kanner described a peculiar disorder characterized by obsessive repetitive habits, remarkable rote memory, and an inability to relate to others in typical ways. This condition, which he termed autism, was considered “rare” at the time but likely more prevalent than recorded cases indicated.
His groundbreaking 1943 paper, “Autistic Disturbances of Affective Contact,” along with detailed accounts from Donald’s father, Beamon Triplett, played a central role in establishing the foundation of our understanding of autism spectrum disorder. The official description of autism remains similar to Dr. Kanner’s initial theories, as outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
As Donald Triplett grew older, he continued to have obsessions, spoke mechanically, and found conversations challenging. Nevertheless, his life took an extraordinary trajectory, defying expectations since his days in institutional care. He not only graduated from high school but also completed his studies at Millsaps College in 1958, where he joined a fraternity and pursued French and math.
Throughout his 20s and 30s, Donald acquired new skills that eluded him during his teenage years. He learned to drive and owned his own Cadillac. He secured employment as a bookkeeper at the Bank of Forest, co-founded by his grandfather. Remarkably, with the assistance of a travel agent, he embarked on solo vacations to various countries worldwide.
His story gained national recognition when journalists John Donvan and Caren Zucker wrote about his life for The Atlantic in 2010. Their coverage led to the book “In a Different Key: The Story of Autism” and a PBS documentary of the same title. Drawing from Donald Triplett’s experiences, the authors highlighted the significance of his family’s wealth and social standing in enabling him to live a fulfilling life. However, they emphasized the crucial role of his hometown, Forest, and its close-knit community of around 3,000 residents. The people of Forest made a conscious decision to embrace and accept him, as the authors noted in a BBC Magazine article in 2016.
Donald Triplett maintained a close relationship with his brother Oliver, who facilitated his interactions with journalists until Oliver’s passing in 2020. While he leaves no immediate survivors, Donald had numerous friends in Forest. Each morning, a group of men joined him for coffee outside City Hall. Younger neighbors warmly welcomed him into their golf tournament team at the Forest Country Club, where he competed admirably. People respected his musical and mathematical abilities, often considering him a savant.
During their reporting, Donvan and Zucker shared that Forest’s residents warned them in similar terms on multiple occasions: “If what you’re doing hurts Don, I know where to find you.” A friend of Donald’s beautifully summed it up: “Don may have some peculiar behaviors and eccentricities, but he is one of us.”
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