In October 2010, The Atlantic Published an article entitled, “Autism’s First Child.” This article chronicled the first documented case of Autism in medical literature dating back to 1943. However, this article was really more about the man, Donald Triplett, a 77-year-old Mississippian, and his enviable life. The author of the article, Caren Zucker, explains it best when she said:
We wanted readers to come away with a critical lesson — that in real and material ways, the quality of life achievable by a person with autism (or with any disability for that matter) depends significantly on how successfully and spontaneously any society recognizes the humanity of that person in its midst. In short, pity isn’t much help. But community is, when community implies connectedness, inclusiveness, caring, and, quite simply, good old-fashioned friendship.