NeuroTribes

The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity

By: Steve Silberman

Narrated by: William Hughes

This New York Times bestseller upends conventional thinking about autism and suggests a broader model for acceptance, understanding, and full participation in society for people who think differently.

What is autism: a lifelong disability or a naturally occurring form of cognitive difference akin to certain forms of genius? In truth, it is both of these things and more—and the future of our society depends on our understanding it. Wired reporter Steve Silberman unearths the secret history of autism, long suppressed by the same clinicians who became famous for discovering it, and finds surprising answers to the crucial question of why the number of diagnoses has soared in recent years.

Going back to the earliest days of autism research and chronicling the brave and lonely journey of autistic people and their families through the decades, Silberman provides long-sought solutions to the autism puzzle, while mapping out a path for our society toward a more humane world in which people with learning differences and those who love them have access to the resources they need to live happier, healthier, more secure, and more meaningful lives.

Along the way, he reveals the untold story of Hans Asperger, the father of Asperger’s syndrome, whose “little professors” were targeted by the darkest social-engineering experiment in human history; exposes the covert campaign by child psychiatrist Leo Kanner to suppress knowledge of the autism spectrum for fifty years; and casts light on the growing movement of “neurodiversity” activists seeking respect, support, technological innovation, accommodations in the workplace and in education, and the right to self-determination for those with cognitive differences.

©2015 Steve Silberman (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

the world of autism opened

This book is very easy to listen to and understand. It answers a lot of questions about autism, and, with the snippets of lives of many living within the spectrum, the book helps the listener truly see, feel, know and have compassion for the struggles of the families and individuals. The narrator is expressive, and easy to listen to. The book is truly an eye opener into the world of autism. I really found the history of autism diagnosis and research extremely interesting. I highly recommend this book

Awesome!

a wonderful history of autism that is informative and encourages healthy introspection. highly recommended reading

Stanley Greenspan was right

Silberman has done the most thorough in-depth research into the history of a disorder of any I have ever read in doctoral studies! This book carefully makes the case that prescient child psychiatrist Stanley Greenspan, MD, made when he developed the approach called DIR/Floortime that celebrates the (I) Individual Differences of each child or person with autism and other developmental challenges and capitalizes on their unique strengths and interests to help them meet foundational social-emotional and intellectual (D) Developmental milestones in the context of a network of attuned (R) Relationships.

Awesome overall view with an opinion

What I absolutely loved about this book is the narrators voice and production. It made me think the narrator was the actual author.

The second best part of this book is the sheer volume of information that the author covers.

He speaks on just about every topic regarding to autism and the associated disorders, or as he describes differences in people.

I am in the field albeit no expert. I learned a tremendous about the history, biomedical, social and personal issues.

I will certainly relisten to this book many times.

One of the challenges with the book is the obvious bias. Although I don't think it a harmful bias, it is still there which keeps the author from detailing other views. Although, much was said already.

The other aspect that I found challenging was the my ability to follow all of the stories of the unique characters.

Overall, it is a must read for patents, educators and open minded biomedical types.

Very enlightening

An eye-opening, slightly clinical dive into the history and evolution of understanding minds. May have effects on one's day to day life while listening. Definitely recommended for anyone interested in mental health.