Steve Silberman’s NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity won the Samuel Johnson Prize for Best Non-Fiction book of the year. It deserves it! Silberman not only provides a fascinating history of autism, but also suggests that neurodivesity is more common than anyone thought. Each chapter in this book has wonderful nuggets of information. The chapter on the making of the film Rain Man for example floored me. I had no idea Steven Spielberg planned to direct Rain Man but dropped out to make Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade instead. Rain Man gave movie audiences the first sympathetic look at an autistic character and changed the entire approach to autism. I can’t over-praise NeuroTribes. It’s a tremendous achievement! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Foreword by Oliver Sacks
Introduction: Beyond the Geek Syndrome
1. The Wizard of Clapham Common
2. The Boy Who Loves Green Straws
3. What Sister Viktorine Knew
4. Fascinating Peculiarities
5. The Invention of Toxic Parenting
6. Princes of the Air
7. Fighting the Monster
8. Nature’s Smudged Lines
9. The Rain Man Effect
10. Pandora’s Box
11. In Autistic Space
12. Building The Enterprise: Designs for a Neurodiverse World
Epilogue: The Mayor of Kensington
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
A subject close to my heart! My oldest daughter has high-functioning autism (previously termed Aspergers Syndrome and now classified under the autism spectrum) and one of her gripes is the presentation of the “magical autistic”–portrayed in the culture as a person with superhuman insight, awareness, knowledge, and abilities because of autism. It’s really a struggle, even for people with mildly autistic tendencies because all of the things we take for granted and do quite naturally (reading verbal and visual cues, tuning out background noise, ignoring unnecessary physical stimuli–lights, clothing tags and labels, etc.) has to be learned and constantly readjusted for each situation. It can be exhausting and I understand why many people with autism require long periods where they can just be alone to decompress.
In my job (as a special ed classroom aide), I work with a much more severely-autistic population. Our focus is on communication, health, safety, and personal care skills because all of our students are non-verbal and will never be able to live independently. My prayers are with their parents and caregivers everyday because there is very little likelihood of breakthroughs of a magnitude that will be of much help to them.
Deb, your eloquent comment highlights many of the aspects I found compelling in NEUROTRIBES. Silberman shows how change of perspectives, both in the medical community and public at-large, affected treatment of children and adults with autism. Your experience with autism gives you unique insights. Although breakthroughs may be unlikely, improved diagnosis and treatment are possible. And you are so right about care-giving!
Early diagnosis is key. Children who are diagnosed early, get educational support services as soon as possible, and have parents/caregivers/and educators all on the same page have a much better chance of becoming independent adults. I’ve seen amazing progress with non-verbal youngsters using PECS (a picture-exchange system) to communicate. But it’s a long, hard climb and parents have to be strong advocates for their children–and, even then, not every child responds in the same way. Once a child “ages out” of the public school system (usually the year they turn 22), there are very few services and support systems in place. It can be a very difficult situation.
Deb, Silberman shows the drop-off in services as autistic children age. Some young people are falling through the cracks in our health systems. He stresses early diagnosis, too.
Yes, rain Man was a fascinating film!
A friend of mine (biology prof) has a son which we believe to have Asperger’s syndrome – it really takes a lot of “courage” to converse with him because his reactions are often so strange …
people who have no idea about this think he’s crazy.
I’m often fascinated by his “one sided” talents – his father took him to the USA for a holiday and he learned the NYC Metro net by heart before the trip, so he could tell his father exactly which lines to take and where to change to get from their hotel to the museums they wanted to visit …
He also learned the Japanese script – just for fun …
But in inter-personal relations he’s really awkward – even with his father (who is not married to the mother and gets to see the son maybe once or twice a month).
PS:
Did you know that the German IT company SAP is actively looking for people with Autism for some special jobs (the have several dozens of people already in that group) – seems they have a special working environment for these…
Wolf, the software companies in Silicon Valley seek autistic programmers who tend to become their best code-writers.
Deb, we feel the same about the assumption – pushed by too many movies and television shows – of the “Rain Man”-type savant. My nephew, like your daughter, is high-functioning autistic and my sister has worked tirelessly for years to get him the help he needs. He has made tremendous progress over the years, has friends, has taken trips across country with his school, etc. Yet in certain subjects he still can’t keep up with “normal” kids and needs extra time and help. My sister worked on getting coverage and help with a woman whose autistic daughter is non-verbal and it is truly heartbreaking.
We worry if he will ever be able to live on his own and function as a self-sufficient person.
Jeff, NEUROTRIBES presents a case study in caring for an autistic child in “The Boy Who Loves Green Straws.” Many autistic children struggle with interactions with adults and other children. I’ve had some high-functioning autistic students in my classes and they’ve done well. I give them extra time on exams. We also have tutors available to assist in their learning process.
This book looks terrific. I remember Bruno Bettelheim persuading us forty years ago that autism was caused by “cold”
mothers. How many women suffered from that mistaken idea?
When all else fails, blame mom!!
Deb, Cate Blanchett gets blamed in CAROL. Somehow husbands get a pass.
And some lunatics believe it’s caused by immunizations/vaccinations …
Wolf, there’s so much mis-information out there! Phony therapies, bogus pills, expensive (but useless) treatments. Silberman reveals much of what is wrong with our health-care system.
Patti, there are plenty of mistakes in the history of autism. Bettelheim’s pseudo-science caused plenty of confusion as Silberman documents. Hopefully, Real Science can help these children and their parents.
George, It seems that many people are searching for a simple/simplistic answer to complex problems like health and genetics/inheritance.
I was really shocked to read about the “MSM”- treatments that are supposed to heal all kinds of health problems and (on a lighter side …) when I heard an acquaintance here in Hungary talk about “paleo medicine” and paleo diets” I was flabbergasted too.
In short paleo means, do as people did 10 000 years ago!
I couldn’t resist then the question:
But Earth was created only 6000 years ago, wasn’t it?
I’m afraid there are a lot of stupid people out there, Wolf. Also, people looking for simplistic answers to difficult questions.
Many of them seem to be drawn to Donald Trump (or, should that fail, Ted Cruz). Better to sound positive and sure of yourself (even if you’re really a know-nothing demagogue) than someone who understands that things just aren’t as simple as “carpet bombing” or building a wall or banning all Muslims.
/gets off Deb’s soapbox
Oh, there’s plenty of room up here for more than one!