Autism-Through the Mists of Time
The term “autism” from the Greek word for “self,” was first used by the psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler in 1911, and then gained more prominence through the works of Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger during the 1940s (although Grunya Sukhareva characterised autism two decades earlier).
However, autism had been well documented before this, through early myths and stories of changelings. These were folk tales of fairies stealing human babies , substituting them for changelings, who looked like the original babies but lack their essential essence and later grow on to develop behaviours and characteristics that are outside of what society regards as the norm.
Autistic researchers and historians have identified other stories that seem to chart autism through the mists of history. Some modern historians and biblical scholars even theorise that Old Testament characters such as Samson, Solomon and Joseph (yes, him with the technicolour dreamcoat fame !) may possessed autistic traits. A more frequently mentioned possible autistic is the New Testament Jewish leader, Nicodemus as the Gospel of John portrays him as a literal thinker, who was keen on rules, couldn’t understand strange expressions without a lot of explanation and who appeared to prefer meeting in low sensory , quiet environments.
Better documented accounts in history include that of Brother Juniper, a disciple of St Francis of Assisi. Like many saintly figures in history, Brother Juniper often sought solitude and appeared to struggle greatly with behavioural difficulties, either inherently, or through societal expectations upon him. He was literal in his obedience, showed stereotypical behaviour and possibly suffered from seizures. One documented example of his literal thinking is shown here:
“Once while visiting a sick friar, Juniper asked him if he could be of any service. The friar asked for pig’s feet to eat, as it would give him great consolation. Brother Juniper, feeling compelled to help the sick friar, took a knife from the kitchen, went into the forest and found a group of pigs feeding. Juniper caught one of the pigs, swiftly cut a leg off, and ran back to the kitchen to prepare it (leaving the rest of the pig in the forest). Unknown to Juniper, the man in charge of the pigs was standing there watching it all happen and quickly informed his master of the situation.”
Another, and much more well-known account from history is that of Victor, the “Wild Boy of Aveyron.” Victor (188–1828) was a French feral child discovered in the woods near Saint-Sernin-sur -Rance. He was brought to a nearby town, to be cared for by a widow. He ran away and fled back to the woods. In January 1800, Victor emerged from the woods on his own. His lack of speech, appearance, food preferences and scarred body was suggestive of several years living alone in the wild. He was described as “walking on four legs, eating plants, and being hairy , deaf and mute.” After being examined by several professionals, he went under the care of a young physician, Jean Marc Gaspard Itard, who worked with him for five years, and gave him the name Victor.
Despite making some progress over the years, Itard could not get Victor to speak. He wondered why Victor would choose to remain silent when he had already proved that he was not, in fact, deaf. Victor also did not understand tones of voice. Victor showed characteristic signs of repeated and restrictive patterns of behaviour ,like grinding of the teeth, incessant rocking back and forth, and sudden, spasmodic movements. Collectively, these characteristics have led to Professor Uta Frith and others to argue that Victor may have been autistic. Certainly, like many children later diagnosed with “classic autism,” he was non-verbal, responded to structure and was resistant to “social training.”
Since Victor’s time, several historical figures have been retrospectively labelled as probably being autistic. These include Einstein, who has been described as a loner who repeated the same sentences compulsively until he was seven. Other figures include Sir Isaac Newton, Leonardo da Vinci and Wolfang Amadeus Mozart. All appear to present classical autistic traits such as restrictive special interests, difficulties in social relationships and problems with social communication.
Whilst some may question the accuracy or validity of these retrospective labels, many autistics , including Temple Grandin, argue that for major innovators in science, engineering and art, autism is an essential factor in human progress in these fields.
Like many autistics, I am often asked where my autism comes from. In studying my family tree, I find generations of engineers, and before them blacksmiths on my father’s side. However, I like to trace my autistic DNA to my 9th Great Grandfather, Henry “Bonjour” Crispe (1581 to 1663).
He was a firm Parliamentarian and had supported Oliver Cromwell during the English Civil War. He was also a wealthy man and in order to raise funds for King Charles II, who in exile, a plot was conceived to kidnap Sir Henry , take him to France and ransom him for the tune of £3,000 .
So on a dark night in August, 1657, Henry was sitting in his large hall conversing with his servants when suddenly the confused sound of voices and the shuffling of many feet was heard in the distance and (what was described at the time as ) “a troop of wild looking sailors stood before the trembling old gentleman ” and he was smuggled onto a ship bound for France.
After eight months, the ransom was paid, and Henry was returned home to Thanet , Kent, England.
“The only French the old man had mastered was ‘Bonjour’ and it was this that made all of Thanet call him ‘Bonjour Crispe’ for the rest of his life.”
I like to think that Sir Henry’s refusal to communicate with his captors in their native language was due to his sheer stubbornness and resistance to change, strong autistic traits. Either way, it is a good story!
True or not, this does reflect a culture of almost romantic interest in autism as either the noble savage, the quirky outsider or tortured genius.
The simple truth, is that we will never know how many , if any, of these historical figures were autistic. However, it is highly likely that autism has been with us a very long time. And autistic contributions to science. engineering, art, music, literature and social justice have been essential catalysts for positive change.
