The "Get a Life" factor of the mid 1990s

[George 1978]

There was a TV programme called You Bet! in the 1990s. It had sporting type challenges and challenges like identifying cars from their headlights. Could the contrast between the two have had any impact on society. Sporting = normal. Car headlights = weird?

Asperger Syndrome became public knowledge in 1991 following the publication of the book Autism and Asperger Syndrome by Uta Frith.

The first TV programme in Britain to mention Asperger Syndrome appears to be QED: I'm Not Stupid, broadcast in April 1995 on BBC1. Half of the decade had gone by then.

When exactly did the media first start mentioning Asperger Syndrome?

You Bet! was a great show especially when Bruce Forsyth presented it. There were some challenges on there which could be seen as "eccentric" such as the headlights one - I used to enjoy those challenges rather than the gymnasts appearing on most shows, trying to do 100 somersaults in three minutes or whatever. I have got a few Asperger syndrome books on my bookshelves (most of of them published by Jessica Kingley Publishing), but the Frith one I don't think I have heard of. I would guess it was the early 1990s when it was mentioned, and only BBC documentries mentioned it back then. I wrote to Points of View, mentioning a later QED documentary, and saying that it was a great documentary put together.

My own diagnosis was in 1996 a year after my nephew's autism diagnosis. Looking at the Times Digital Archive, autism was more prominently mentioned from the 1960s onwards, but I don't remember it mentioned prior to around 1991 as you said. Of course, I didn't take notice of it back then as it was prior to my own diagnosis. I was amazed to see Coronavirus mentioned in The Times (in its plural form) in around 1980! I thought that it was only since the late 2010s at the earliest that had been discovered.

[Richard1978]

I can remember email addresses mentioned on TV programmes from about 1992, & web addresses are featured in magazines I have from 1995 onwards.

[Arran]

You Bet! was a great show especially when Bruce Forsyth presented it. There were some challenges on there which could be seen as "eccentric" such as the headlights one - I used to enjoy those challenges rather than the gymnasts appearing on most shows, trying to do 100 somersaults in three minutes or whatever.

Bear in mind that most of the sporting challenges are practice practice practice until you are confident you can do them in the time limit, whereas the car headlights challenges are the epitome of obsession and dedication - especially if you aren't working in the automotive parts business or similar.

I have got a few Asperger syndrome books on my bookshelves (most of of them published by Jessica Kingley Publishing), but the Frith one I don't think I have heard of.

Autism and Asperger Syndrome by Uta Frith was the world's standard handbook on Asperger syndrome before Tony Attwood wrote his book. It's notable that it is written in an easy to read style that could be understood by parents, teachers, GPs etc. who had not formally studied psychology, as opposed to it being a highly technical textbook for professional psychologists.

My own diagnosis was in 1996 a year after my nephew's autism diagnosis.

That is quite early, especially for somebody who has finished school. A psychologist told me that it's rare to find anybody diagnosed with Asperger syndrome born before 1988 who had a diagnosis before 2005.

Did you have a statement of SEN whilst at school? I have known people with Asperger syndrome who had a statement of SEN back in the 1990s, and even early 2000s, but were not diagnosed until after the age of 16. In some cases they only found out about Asperger Syndrome after watching the documentary My Family and Autism, featuring Luke Jackson, which was broadcast in 2003.

[George 1978]

Bear in mind that most of the sporting challenges are practice practice practice until you are confident you can do them in the time limit, whereas the car headlights challenges are the epitome of obsession and dedication - especially if you aren't working in the automotive parts business or similar.

I was the one who used to ask my mother for a sicknote, excusing me from PE, and so I preferred to watch sports on the TV. I believe that the majority of those interested in car headlights probably work for Kwik-Fit or somewhere similar.

Autism and Asperger Syndrome by Uta Frith was the world's standard handbook on Asperger syndrome before Tony Attwood wrote his book. It's notable that it is written in an easy to read style that could be understood by parents, teachers, GPs etc. who had not formally studied psychology, as opposed to it being a highly technical textbook for professional psychologists.

Again, it was a bit before my time - had my diagnosis (and my nephew's) was five years before for example, (although it would have been before he was born!) I probably would have taken notice of it back then.

That is quite early, especially for somebody who has finished school. A psychologist told me that it's rare to find anybody diagnosed with Asperger syndrome born before 1988 who had a diagnosis before 2005.

Did you have a statement of SEN whilst at school? I have known people with Asperger syndrome who had a statement of SEN back in the 1990s, and even early 2000s, but were not diagnosed until after the age of 16. In some cases they only found out about Asperger Syndrome after watching the documentary My Family and Autism, featuring Luke Jackson, which was broadcast in 2003.

It was due to my nephew's autism diagnosis which happened when I was 16-17, and that was a few months after I left school - I was yet to be diagnosed when I was at school, and a lot of people at a social group that I went to a few years later said that it was for the best that it didn't happen while I was still at school. I did see some specialists including an Educational Psychologist circa 1990 - he didn't mention Asperger Syndrome back then, although ironically, he mentioned in medical notes back in 1983 as "he does not have autism".

I certainly remember the Luke Jackson documentary on BBC Two in 2003 and I also have the book, Freaks, Geeks and Asperger Syndriome by Jackson which came out the same time - published by Jessica Kkingsley Publishing. I atteneded a meeting in the cafe part of my local Waterstones back then - as I was leaving, I saw Jackson's book on a shelf so I bought a copy. I still have it on my bookcase in the room, next to the Tony Attwood book, also published by JKP.

[George 1978]

I can remember email addresses mentioned on TV programmes from about 1992, & web addresses are featured in magazines I have from 1995 onwards.

I would have thought that 1992 would have been a bit early for email addresses unless it was in the United States or insiders who would secretly use such technology within their own workplaces.

[Arran]

I did see some specialists including an Educational Psychologist circa 1990 - he didn't mention Asperger Syndrome back then, although ironically, he mentioned in medical notes back in 1983 as "he does not have autism".

It was common for psychologists to rule out autism in people with (undiagnosed) Asperger syndrome back in the 1970s, 80s, and well into the 90s. It's because they didn't fit the criteria for autism that existed at the time.

If you want to know more about autism in the 1980s then read Autistic Children: A Guide for Parents and Professionals by Lorna Wing. Like Uta Frith's book, it was written in an easy to read style that could be understood by parents, teachers, GPs etc. who had not formally studied psychology. It effectively 'set the scene' for autism amongst psychologists until books about Asperger Syndrome first appeared in the early 1990s. The book was published in 1985 but strangely there is no reference to Asperger Syndrome or the (now famous) paper 'Asperger's syndrome: a clinical account' published in Psychological Medicine in 1981. There is very little in the book that is relevant to people with Asperger syndrome, so it's not surprising that autism was ruled out by psychologists etc. back then.

[Arran]

I would have thought that 1992 would have been a bit early for email addresses unless it was in the United States or insiders who would secretly use such technology within their own workplaces.

I have been trying to ascertain when the first email address and URL appeared on TV in Britain - both for a programme and a commercial. Could it have been on a satellite or cable channel before any of the terrestrial channels?

Did any of the 5 losing ITV companies have email addresses or websites?

[George 1978]

I have been trying to ascertain when the first email address and URL appeared on TV in Britain - both for a programme and a commercial. Could it have been on a satellite or cable channel before any of the terrestrial channels?

Did any of the 5 losing ITV companies have email addresses or websites?

It probably doesn't count but Thames became an independent producer, they were most likely to have a website and email address, but by then they were part of Pearson Television International.

TVS Television was reused as a company name by a former employee and it exists on the internet like this: http://tvstelevision.co.uk/ Not the same company of course, but Keith Jacobsen more or less did to TVS what Victor Lewis-Smith did for Associated-Rediffusion; in other words, a defunct company no longer has copyright on an identical name. A company called TSW Training has www.tsw.co.uk which probably could have been TSW's website had it survived in the internet age. And perhaps TV-am might have had this, with the org.uk replaced with co.uk? - https://www.tv-am.org.uk/

It's quite fun imagining what URL a defunct company would have had online had they survived into the internet age. Meanwhile, Yorkshire and Tyne Tees didn't even have a website in 1999 when the www.itv.co.uk website existed - probably unrelated to the Gyngell era of those companies.

[George 1978]

It was common for psychologists to rule out autism in people with (undiagnosed) Asperger syndrome back in the 1970s, 80s, and well into the 90s. It's because they didn't fit the criteria for autism that existed at the time.

If you want to know more about autism in the 1980s then read Autistic Children: A Guide for Parents and Professionals by Lorna Wing. Like Uta Frith's book, it was written in an easy to read style that could be understood by parents, teachers, GPs etc. who had not formally studied psychology. It effectively 'set the scene' for autism amongst psychologists until books about Asperger Syndrome first appeared in the early 1990s. The book was published in 1985 but strangely there is no reference to Asperger Syndrome or the (now famous) paper 'Asperger's syndrome: a clinical account' published in Psychological Medicine in 1981. There is very little in the book that is relevant to people with Asperger syndrome, so it's not surprising that autism was ruled out by psychologists etc. back then.

It's amazing because Hans Asperger put his name to the condition back in the 1940s, and so why it didn't feature prominently until the early 1990s is anyone's guess.

[Arran]

It's amazing because Hans Asperger put his name to the condition back in the 1940s, and so why it didn't feature prominently until the early 1990s is anyone's guess.

I'm baffled why Asperger syndrome was not co-discovered some time in the 1960s or 70s (without knowledge of the work of Hans Asperger) resulting in it becoming a mainstream condition by 1980. A discussion with a psychologist revealed that even the pieces of the puzzle weren't really falling in place during these decades.

I told him about the mysterious documentary about Asperger syndrome from the 1970s.

https://forums.doyouremember.co.uk/f...erger-syndrome

He had no knowledge of it, but after I mentioned it was not a success and the producers received much criticism from the public at the time including accusations of fraudulent behaviour, he replied that it could shine some light on the attitudes of British society at that time. There could have been some inertia in British society that acted as an inhibiting force to research and investigation from the ground up.

We both speculated that had Asperger syndrome been unknown by the mid 1990s then it would most likely have been discovered by parents on social media, such as Usenet or later Mumsnet or the (now defunct) TES forum, rather than by the psychology profession. Whether the psychology profession would have recognised it as an official condition, or whether it would have concluded as bad parenting is difficult to say.

I'm also baffled why Lorna Wing did not make any attempt to publicise Asperger syndrome during the 1980s in more mainstream medical and education journals, or even the Times Educational supplement. Her famous paper languished for 10 years in an obscure academic journal that no teachers, or paediatric consultants, or even educational psychologists read, until Uta Frith published her book. I have met some people with Asperger syndrome who were school age children in the 1980s and early 90s (along with their parents) who think it was highly irresponsible of Lorna Wing to be so secretive, Some of these people ended up being misdiagnosed with emotional and behavioural difficulties by educational psychologists, and were even placed in special needs schools that were totally unsuitable for their needs alongside students who were very different from themselves. One parent (who read Lorna Wing's paper in the early 2000s) told me that if she had read that paper in the 1980s, then she would clearly have known that her son had Asperger syndrome and not emotional and behavioural difficulties.

[George 1978]

I think that it was because society swept obscure things under the carpet back then - look at how things were seen in which these days we would tackle head on. I am not saying that you are lying, Arran, but I do feel that the 1970s was way too early for a documentary about Asperger Syndrome being shown on British TV. Autism was portrayed in TV dramas as early as 1975 because a teenage Pauline Quirke played a youngster with the condition back then. Autism: yes, one can imagine Horizon or Man Alive doing that as early as BBC 2's first decade on air. Other left-wing documentary series such as World in Action and Panarama might have done some back then as well.

I remember looking at the burgandy-covered The Times Index reference books in the Nottingham Central Library and I noticed that Asperger Syndrome was not listed prior to the start of the 1990s, although autism was listed at least from 1964 onwards.

[Arran]

I still think you are conflating Asperger Syndrome with traditional autism...

The term Asperger Syndrome was not known by the media or the general public until 1991 when Uta Frith published her book. Therefore Asperger Syndrome would not be mentioned in a documentary made the 1970s. The impression I get about the documentary is that it shows children with strange behavioural traits which cannot be explained with the then current body of knowledge of child psychology. Therefore it's more of a 'solve this mystery' programme rather than a documentary about Asperger Syndrome produced by people with knowledge of the condition after it becomes officially recognised by psychologists.

Bottom up research by parents and teachers, or other people in contact with the children on a regular basis, in the 1970s would reveal Asperger Syndrome to be some miscellaneous pervasive developmental disorder rather than autism. In the 1970s traditional autism was a reasonably mature subject with a well defined diagnostic criteria. A criteria which people with Asperger Syndrome did not meet. This pervasive developmental disorder would almost certainly not receive the title Asperger Syndrome as the work of Hans Asperger was unknown at the time. It would only be incorporated into autism spectrum disorder at a later date as a result of the work of academic psychologists. Whether this would be before or after the discovery of the work of Hans Asperger is difficult to say. The NAS would ignore this pervasive developmental disorder until it was formally incorporated into ASD, and claim that people with it are outside of its remit.

I'm not confident in your statement that society swept obscure things under the carpet back then. It was Lorna Wing being secretive for some unknown reason or other.

[George 1978]

I still think you are conflating Asperger Syndrome with traditional autism...

A lot of people seem to put them both in the same boat - I for one, dislike people with Asperger Syndrome being called "autistic". I once compmained to a TV company which made a drama where a character had called some with autism "spastic", which is not only offensive, hence the "stic" being the final four letters of that word just like "autistic", but it is also a word associated with Cerebal Palsy, hence the former charity of that name, and not autism. Autistic and spastic sound like similar words and I don't like either of them being used. "He has autism" sounds better than "he is autistic".

I'm not confident in your statement that society swept obscure things under the carpet back then. It was Lorna Wing being secretive for some unknown reason or other.

I just think that it wasn't a subject that was discussed back then as it was in later years. I had never heard of Wing prior to my diagnosis because: A) It was in the days before I had access to the internet; and B) I had no reason to find out about such a person anyway.

[Arran]

A lot of people seem to put them both in the same boat - I for one, dislike people with Asperger Syndrome being called "autistic".

This has only happened following the publication of DSM-5 in 2013 which collapses the different types of ASD into one category, then assigns a level to it which indicates the amount of support (but not the nature of the support) in monetised terms. It's designed for the privatised American healthcare system to help it allocate resources. A psychologist told me that there is nothing scientific about allocating 3 levels (rather than 5 or even 100 levels) but it is a convenient round number for the American health insurance industry to assign a dollar value to any claims that arise from ASD.

The psychologist is critical of the highly US centric nature of DSM-5 and how it has effectively become the standard in Britain displacing ICD. The NAS loves it because they can push people with Asperger Syndrome (almost always Level 1 under DSM-5) to the back of the queue. They have never liked dealing with people with Asperger Syndrome.

It appears that whenever autism is used in everyday discourse or social media over the past few years, it means Asperger Syndrome 9 out of 10 times as opposed to traditional autism.

I just think that it wasn't a subject that was discussed back then as it was in later years.

As I have previously stated, it comes across as more of a scientific mystery programme rather than a documentary about an established topic.

You might not be aware of this, but most teachers don't like having children with Asperger Syndrome in their class. They by and large considered Asperger Syndrome to be a wilful behavioural trait even well into the 1990s.

[George 1978]

A quite fascibating insight - amazing how a thread such as this can develop!