The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (TALA) in West Virginia (71 Asylum Drive, Weston, WV, 26452) was built in the mid-1800s, long before autism became a formal, medical diagnosis. In theory, asylums were designed to provide support and shelter to lunatics or people of “unsound minds.” TALA’s reality, and others like it, reveals something far different.
The initial plan of providing each patient with a tiny private room, a small bed and a window to let the sunlight in eventually became impractical as TALA’s population of “lunatics” grew. Even though it was built to accommodate 250 patients, it ended up housing more than ten times that number, reaching its peak in the 1950s with 2,600 patients crammed into rooms, hallways, and every conceivable space.
On the second floor, children with autism, Down’s syndrome, and other mental and physical disabilities were housed in the Children’s Ward. As they got older, they would be moved to adult wards where they would spend the remainder of their lives. Some, whose families never claimed their corpses, perhaps because it was too much of a bother or they were too embarrassed, can be found buried in a small cemetery on a hill next to the institution.
If my son Jimmy had been born one hundred years earlier, I doubt he would have “made it” due to health complications at birth. But if he had, it’s likely he would have been referred to as an ignoramus, a clinical idiot, or a lunatic. Jimmy would have become a ward of the state and sent to a mental hospital or asylum like TALA. As parents, we would have had little if any choice in the matter.
Why did people become get committed to TALA? Well, the list is long, random, and frightening. Diagnoses included feebleness of intellect, epileptic fits, “overaction of the mind,” mental excitement, “softening of the brain,” and “overtaxing mental powers.” Others who might end up in TALA were found to be lazy, nymphomaniacs, immoral, and greedy.
The quote at the beginning describes one of the various Paranormal Tours offered on the grounds of TALA. These “Ghost Tours” are offered during the day and night. Depending on the cost (which ranges from $40 to $150), the public can go on “hunts” (alone or in groups) and spend the night, accompanied by experienced guides to ensure a “positive and safe evening.”
After more than 100 years of operation, TALA started showing its age. The facility closed its doors in 1994 but unfortunately, its former residents are still being exploited and disrespected. It’s worth noting that a few years ago, former President Barack Obama signed legislation into law that removed the term lunatic from all U.S. federal laws.
Yes it’s important to remember history so we don’t repeat it. But this type of remembrance is both repulsive and unconscionable. If and when we step on the grounds of TALA, it should be a time of reflection and remembrance, not hundred dollar guided ghost hunts to find the “hottest spots.” By the way, TALA isn’t the only offender but that doesn’t make it any less repugnant. Where’s the outrage?
Please note: I am currently writing a book about my entire family and how we have grown over the years, in large part because of Jimmy. My son Jimmy is a middle-aged adult on the autism spectrum. The voices and perspectives of my son, my two daughters and wife as well as friends and professionals are included throughout. It’s a real, uplifting, and remarkable story; one which I have wanted to share for a long time. The book will be published this summer.
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