In A Different Key, The Story Of Autism
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The history of autism and autism advocacy are the subjects of the book In a Different Key: The Story of Autism written by John Donvan and Caren Zucker. The book discusses such issues as [1] the Refrigerator mother theory and the possibility of an autism epidemic.[2] Donald Triplett, perhaps the first person diagnosed with autism, and [3][4][5] psychiatrist Leo Kanner are also covered, as is the ongoing [6] debate concerning the neurodiversity movement, especially with respect to low-functioning autistics.[2]
How can kindness make this world better? How do we connect with those who are different? Who was the first person ever diagnosed with autism? In a Different Key, an award-winning documentary seeks to answer these questions with deep empathy, sharing the story of the now-elderly man in rural Mississippi to get insights into his life.
The duo learned all about the different facets of autism through their research and consider their news stories and the In a Different Key book and movie an incredible vehicle for positive change.
Ben Hartranft, a national motivational speaker and autism advocate, greeted guests as they entered the Zlock Performing Arts Center, handing out his card, and pitching an invitation to speak at their place of employment. The sense of community was present in the lobby, where guests mingled and made purchases from Bake Ability of Buckingham, who offered treats baked by individuals with different abilities, and Popcorn for the People, a nonprofit that employs individuals with autism.
This story, which is based on the New York Times bestselling book and Pulitzer Prize Finalist In A Different Key: The Story of Autism, is told through the eyes of journalist Caren Zucker, a Peabody Award-winning 25-year veteran of ABC News and producer and co-writer of the six-part PBS series Autism Now, whose own son has autism. Zucker, along with John Donvan, are the co-directors and co-producers of the film.
In 1938, Dr. Leo Kanner, a preeminent child psychiatrist in the United States, examined a boy named Donald Triplett. Donald began life developing normally, but around age two his mother grew concerned. Donald was detached emotionally and didn't show signs of self-sufficiency or ability to recognize danger. He created rituals and expressed a rigid need for "sameness." It would be four years after first seeing Donald before Dr. Kanner coined a term for this collection of irregular behaviors; at that point Donald Triplett became the first person ever diagnosed with autism. His story begins In a Different Key, ABC contributing correspondent John Donvan and ABC producer/journalist Caren Zucker's in-depth look at this puzzling disorder that was virtually unknown (or undiagnosed) only 70 years ago.
When the country moved past these deplorable eugenics ideas, it proceeded in the 1950s and '60s to the theory of "refrigerator mothers": autistic children were the product of mothers who didn't love them enough. Donvan and Zucker probe these elements of autism's history with journalists' eyes--reporting the facts--but they also share the heartfelt experiences of parents who persevered, fighting daily battles for their children while enduring criticism from society and the mental health community. It's Donvan and Zucker's compassionate respect for the families and their astounding achievements that makes In a Different Key so compelling.
John Donvan is a multiple Emmy Award-winning correspondent for ABC and the moderator of the Intelligence Squared U.S. debate series. His co-writer, Caren Zucker, is a Peabody Award-winning television news producer with ABC and PBS, where she produced and co-wrote the six-part PBS series Autism Now. Both authors have a personal connection to autism and together they have written a comprehensive history of the disorder in their new book, In a Different Key.
We began working together as a producer and correspondent team at ABC News in the late '90s. At the time Caren was unaware that John's wife had a brother with autism, and that her own son, Mickey, would be diagnosed with autism in 1996. After Mickey's diagnosis, we decided, as friends and colleagues, to try to make autism something of a beat. We were not interested in doing the usual run of stories that center on the miracle cures, bizarre treatments or spectacular savant skills, but wanted to pursue a journalism of autism that would help educate those who didn't know about or understand it, and that would inspire them to compassion and generosity of spirit to those who are different because of how their brains are wired. Eventually, we launched a branded series at ABC, called Echoes of Autism. In 2001, we produced the first half-hour network special on applied behavior analysis, which is now the gold standard for autism treatment. We sat down with brothers and sisters of kids with autism, as they shared their life experiences. We produced broadcasts on how challenging it is for someone with autism to find reciprocated love. We made it a priority to produce pieces that highlighted the need for schools, and the huge shortage in adult services. And we reported on people diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, meeting adolescents who painfully exposed how tough life was for them, with the constant bullying they experienced.
But stories on TV come and go. That is why, about six years into producing these stories, we decided we wanted to write a book that would be everlasting, and that would tell the larger, longer backstory of how families and advocates began to change the world for people with autism. We now feel we have written the definitive history of the struggle for civil rights surrounding the most controversial diagnosis of our time, fueled by hope, science and love.
The only commonality between the stories we produced at ABC News and the writing of the book is that they are both forms of journalism. Otherwise, writing a book is a different game entirely and we had to relearn a lot. For example, we had arrived at a clear and comfortable division of labor working in television, where we were familiar with the format and with each other's style of work. All that changed during the process of writing the book. Television, of course, has pictures, which tell at least half the story themselves. Creating a scene is a completely different challenge when telling a story with words only.
Caren: I cannot say I was surprised by anything. I do think, that in researching the history of autism, we saw how society repeated some of the same mistakes over again, even when there had been a previous awareness of the horrible treatment and conditions; somehow history repeated itself--institutionalization is one good example. However, the depth and passion of those fighting for the rights of people with autism was more profound than I had imagined, and taught me that although this community may still have a long way to go, we are where we are today because of the fight these parents and advocates fought: for access to schools, for the end of institutionalization, for an end to the blaming of mothers and, most important, for the ongoing battle to help find a place and acceptance in the world for people with autism.
We would like to think that our book might make some impact in educating and giving the world a deeper understanding and compassion for those who have autism. You mention all of these horrible events in our history, and we tell the stories of how parents effectively battled for change. However, with each step forward, new challenges surface--the most pressing being, at present, a shortage in housing and support for adults with autism. That came about because of progress, ironically. With the demise of the institutions, we eventually created schools for children with autism, but we did not build places where adults with autism could have a life. Society has barely started figuring out how best to care for the adult members of the autism community. We still do not have an answer for parents who ask "Who will take care of my child when I die?" As a society, we must think carefully about how we treat our most vulnerable members.
That said, society has come far in terms of raising its level of compassion toward those who are different since "autism's first child" was diagnosed, but there is still a formidable lack of knowledge, which leads people to be fearful or unkind to those they don't know or understand. It really isn't about misconceptions or fallacies; it is about tolerance for difference.
Nearly seventy-five years ago, Donald Triplett of Forest, Mississippi, became the firstchild diagnosed with autism. Beginning with his family s odyssey, In a Different Key tells the extraordinary story of this often misunderstood condition, and of the civil rights battles waged by the families of those who have it. Unfolding over decades, it is a beautifully rendered history of ordinary people determined to secure a place in the world for those with autism by liberating children from dank institutions, campaigning for their right to go to school, challenging expert opinion on what it means to have autism, and persuading society to accept those who are different.
This is also a story of fierce controversies from the question of whether there is truly an autism epidemic, and whether vaccines played a part in it; to scandals involving facilitated communication, one of many treatments that have proved to be blind alleys; to stark disagreements about whether scientists should pursue a cure for autism. There are dark turns too: we learn about experimenters feeding LSD to children with autism, or shocking them with electricity to change their behavior; and the authors reveal compelling evidence that Hans Asperger, discoverer of the syndrome named after him, participated in the Nazi program that consigned disabled children to death.
Triplett, born in the 1930s, holds a unique place in history as the first person diagnosed with autism before the medical community even had a word for autism. Now in his late 80s, Triplett and Forest are featured prominently in the film, acknowledging how the community has embraced him and supported his different abilities. 781b155fdc