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'Autism's First Child' Gives Clues About The Disorder

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Donald Gray Triplett, 77, is the first person ever diagnosed with autism. (Miller Mobley/REDUX)
Donald Gray Triplett, 77, is the first person ever diagnosed with autism. (Miller Mobley)

Years before anyone had heard of autism, Donald Triplett was growing up in Mississippi with behavioral issues that confounded his parents, friends and doctors. Eventually, Donald was brought to see a world-renowned child psychiatrist, who diagnosed the boy with the previously unknown syndrome, autism.

Former ABC producer Caren Zucker and Nightline correspondent John Donvon spent several years tracking down "autism's first child" and found him, at age 77, living independently in the same house where he grew up. We talk to Zucker about meeting Donald Triplett, and about the challenges of adults with autism.

This segment aired on December 15, 2010.

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