The 'insanity' of Lady Durham

Abstract

This essay draws on evidence in a late nineteenth-century court case and surviving medical notes to provide a case study of a hitherto unidentified case of Autism Spectrum Disorder. The case is particularly interesting in that it not only appears to be the first identification of historical ASD in a female, but also because the patient subsequently developed symptoms of psychosis suggestive of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. The unusual survival of detailed medical notes also throws light on the ways in which a difficult patient was treated by supposedly enlightened pioneers of psychiatry.

Keywords: 19th century; Autism; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Ticehurst Hospital; schizoaffective disorder; schizophrenia.