A New York Times bestseller Winner of the 2015 Samuel Johnson Prize for n-fiction A groundbreaking book that 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 all 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 diagses 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 kwledge of the autism spectrum for fifty years; and casts light on the growing movement of -neurodiversity- activists seeking respect, support, techlogical invation, accommodations in the workplace and in education, and the right to self-determination for those with cognitive differences.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Avery Publishing Group
ISBN-10
158333467x
ISBN-13
9781583334676
eBay Product ID (ePID)
214301154
Product Key Features
Author
Steve Silberman
Format
Sewn,Cloth over Boards, Hardback
Language
English
Subject
Psychology: Professional & General
Type
Textbook
Additional Product Features
Author Biography
Steve Silberman has covered science and cultural affairs for WIRED and other national magazines for more than twenty years. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, TIME, Nature, and Salon. He lives in San Francisco.