Donald Triplett was autism’s “Case 1”
The first man diagnosed as autistic died on June 15th, aged 89
At first there were words, so many words. “Chrysanthemum!” was a favourite. He used to like saying that one. And “Dahlia” too—he liked that one so much he would repeat it: “Dahlia! Dahlia! Dahlia!” The five-year-old Donald Triplett had non-floral favourites as well. Sometimes, he sounded like an irate grammarian: “Semicolon, capital, slain, slain,” he would say. Then, as if conciliatory: “I could put a little comma.” Some of his phrases had an almost biblical beauty: “Through the dark clouds shining.”
This article appeared in the Obituary section of the print edition under the headline “Through the dark clouds shining”
Obituary July 8th 2023
From the July 8th 2023 edition
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