Ever since he was small, John Robison had longed to connect with other people, but by the time he was a teenager, his odd habits, an inclination to blurt out non sequiturs, avoid eye contact, dismantle radios, and dig five-foot holes, had earned him the label "social deviant". No guidance came from his mother or his father. It was no wonder he gravitated to machines, which could, at least, be counted on.
Ever since he was small, John Robison had longed to connect with other people, but by the time he was a teenager, his odd habits, an inclination to blurt out non sequiturs, avoid eye contact, dismantle radios, and dig five-foot holes, had earned him the label "social deviant". No guidance came from his mother or his father. It was no wonder he gravitated to machines, which could, at least, be counted on.
In this hour, we get to know a few autistic people with Asperger's Syndrome, and we learn about music's effect on the brain. First, director Lizzie Gottlieb (Today's Man). Next, author John Elder Robison (Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's). Then, author Howard Dully (My Lobotomy). Finally, author Oliver Sacks (Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain).