Before the 1990s, society dealt with individuals who fell outside the cognitive norm through a brutal combination of institutional isolation, medical blame, and forced assimilation. [1, 2]
The historical treatment of neurodivergent people prior to the 1990s framework focused heavily on suppression rather than accommodation:
## 1. State Warehousing and Permanent Isolation
For most of the 20th century, children who exhibited severe sensory overloads, an inability to speak, or intense repetitive behaviors were routinely separated from their families.
* The Treatment: Doctors routinely advised parents to [permanently institutionalize their children](
https://bluegemsaba.com/the-history-of-autism-and-institutionalization/) in state asylums or "schools for the feebleminded". [1, 2]
* The Reality: Once inside these institutions, individuals were largely hidden from public view. They were subjected to forced sedation, physical restraints, and crowded conditions, living out their lives completely cut off from mainstream society. [1, 3]
## 2. The "Refrigerator Mother" Era of Blame
During the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, mainstream psychiatry did not view neurodivergence as a natural biological or genetic difference. Instead, it was classified as an emotional psychiatric disorder caused by bad parenting. [1]
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