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NeuroTribes

the Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity
Dec 03, 2015dionyzus rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
An interesting history of the slow dawning of understanding of the autism spectrum over the last 100 years. As the book explains, well past the turn of the 20th century psychiatric diagnoses routinely missed those with mild symptoms (now known as Asperger's syndrome) and committed most severe cases to institutions for life. Now all degrees of autism are much better understood and accommodations and acceptance, similar to what are afforded those with other disabilities, seem to offer the best chance for a positive outcome in terms of quality of life. The book relates many stories of individuals who either have autism or try to help those who do, and also describes historic milestones in its study. Perhaps the most striking example given is the "Autism Wars" of the 1990s in which pseudoscientific claims blaming autism on childhood vaccines ended up doing much more harm than good as it led to near hysteria among parents. But the book quickly dispatches any claim of a causal link, making the simple observation that autism often manifests around age 2, which happens to coincide with vaccine treatments. An engaging read and a positive step toward understanding the full spectrum of autism, which is a hereditary condition with no cure but like other handicaps can be overcome, and even has some positive aspects, leading some to celebrate their "neurodiversity."