Originally Posted by
Lencoboy
Your brief account of the ordeals you suffered as an autistic child in the 70s, especially at school, really strikes a chord with me.
I know the present time is dead horrible with this wretched Covid-19 pandemic (and various other issues), but I probably would have hated it in the 70s as well, especially as vicious beatings of children in general was allegedly commonplace, especially from school teachers and nasty violent parents who often used to vent their anger and frustrations of the stresses and strains typical of said decade on the children, and those with learning disabilities must have been fair game for such abuse.
Physical abuse was also allegedly common in children's homes and likewise establishments back then, especially as such establishments often had staff members who were no-hopers themselves, and ironically those environments often ended up being far more inhumane and futile than many children's original family homes, so they were essentially being shifted from one problematic environment to another, complete with other potentially disturbed kids and staff members who were/are often losers themselves.
Though, as I was born in 1977, my younger ordeals were mostly through the 80s, but from around the early 90s onwards, society suddenly started to become more aware of autism in general, no doubt following the 1988 movie 'Rain Man'.
And I think more people are being diagnosed with the condition now, rather than the actual condition itself being more prevalent than ever. I also reckon there were a lot more 'hidden' autistics in the past, especially before the 90s, so we were probably amongst the proverbial 'tip of the iceberg' at the time.