Historical Background

Abstract

Peter had always been a difficult baby. He cried frequently, and although his mother tried to comfort him, he was inconsolable. He never reached for his mother to pick him up. When she did hold him he did not cling to her. But, since he was her first child, his mother took her friends’ and relatives’ advice not to worry. She hoped that Peter would eventually grow out of it. When Peter joined a play group of toddlers his age, the differences between him and other children became impossible to ignore. He did not appear to notice the other children. He always played alone. Every day, in the midst of a noisy room of rambunctious children, Peter moved around quietly collecting all of the stuffed animals into a pile. Peter’s parents suspected that he was deaf and asked their pediatrician for a referral to a specialist.