NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and How to Think Smarter About People Who Think Differently by Steve SilbermanMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I came to this book after watching Steve Silberman give a Ted Talk about the forgotten history of autism and how the current anti-vaccine movement is still centred around the fear of children developing it.
As a mother of an autistic (Aspergers) son, I am fully aware that vaccines have no connection to autism. My son showed signs of his particular autistic nature within the first days of being born. But I was interested to know more about how this misinformation escalated into what is termed as the 'Autism wars', and this book was far from disappointing.
It also resolved once and for all why there is, what is termed an 'epidemic' of cases by showing that it is solely down to the perimeters of the diagnosis being developed and released through each edition of the DSM (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association). The manual was first published in 1974 and has since gone through several revisions, defining Autism and its myriad symptoms more clearly with each issue. It is this and nothing more insidious that is causing this upswing in numbers.
Neurotribes provides the history of Autism, right back to its very first mention in the late 1800's. Silberman uses the detailed case notes of Hans Asperger and his team in Vienna prior to the second world war, describing each individual case and how it was found, talking about specific children and people. He also talks about Eugenics which was heavily prevalent at the time in the United States, and even law from 1909 to 1939 in most states, and how it informed the campaign that Hitler used to rise to power.
It also details the disturbing outcome for the children in institutes both prior to the war and during, and the true horrors that befell them. Back then they were tagged as Feebleminded, and parents were advised to put them in institutes as they weren't believed to be worth educating. In fact in many cases it was only families with money or those that couldn't bear to give their child that kept them at home and who actually turned out as full developed individuals.
He recounts how after the second world war, research into Autism was led by a man named Kanner, in the US - as all of the psychologists and researchers working in this field prior to the war were either no longer alive or living in Europe due to many of them had been Jewish. Kanner's input wasn't positive, as he believed autism was rare and/or caused by toxic mothers. His beliefs about the condition actually created a great deal of the stigma that autism still carries today. It was only from the 1960s onwards when parents started to push back against these ideas and start to come together that more progress was made, and Aspergers initial findings (that it was not rare at all) would return and become part of the diagnostic literature.
In the latter years, Silberman talks about society and cultural influences, and how it is no longer just about children but about adults too. He talks about how a man called Lovaas, a clinical psychologist, brought in the idea that it was a disease that could be treated and even cured with holistic medicine, and the problem that caused for many parents, who instead of accepting and working with their children to nurture and help them grown, it stigmatised people with autism further. And how the organisation Autism Speaks is still promotes these idea.
Silberman doesn't try and temper the darker more disturbing sides, he solely narrates every detail, providing an overall picture of how the diagnostics have progressed over the decades.
The later part of this book provided some interesting insights into how adult autistic people think and feel, which helped me understand my own son better, and also provides details of organisations and conferences out there not just for me as a parent but for autistic people.
This book has helped me understand how the diagnostic side works, and provided me with valuable information on both the autistic mind and what is available for both me as a parent and for my son.
This is a valuable read for anyone who has Autism touch their lives. I am not surprised it won an award.
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