How was Autism/Downs Syndrome treated before the 20th Century? | AskHistorians Archive Observer

How was Autism/Downs Syndrome treated before the 20th Century?

by vivid2011

I only know of Downs being known as 'mongoloids' in the 20th century, but can't see much acknowledgement of it previously. Were mentally/developmentally disabled people known to be different? Or were they just known as dumb?

sunagainstgold

Heya, I have a few posts that might interest you, focused on Europe/America:

How were people with autism treated in the past? - looks at the 18th-20th centuries
How did medieval people deal with Down's Syndrome and autism? - Middle Ages
How did medieval people think about/explain developmental disabilities like Down's syndrome? - Middle Ages

And this one is mostly more recent, but has a little bit of background about the early 20th century:

It's 1959 in middle-class America. My child has just been born with Down syndrome. I don't listen to the recommendation to institutionalize him. How do I raise him in a hostile social context?