Autism: Explaining the Enigma [Paperback]

Rating: (6 reviews)
Author: Uta Frith
ISBN : 9780631229018
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The updated edition of this classic account of autism includes a new chapter outlining recent developments in neuropsychological research, and overviews one of the most important theoretical and practical consequences of Frith's original insights into this puzzling condition.

• Updated edition of this classic account of autism.
  
• Includes new sections covering practical and theoretical developments, and a chapter on recent investigations of the neurological basis of psychological impairments in autism.
  
• Accessible to a broad general readership.

• Product Details
• Table of Contents
• Reviews

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; 2 edition (April 18, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0631229019
• ISBN-13: 978-0631229018
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Preface to the Second Edition.


1. What is Autism?.


2. The Enchantment of Autism.


3. Lessons from History.


4. Is there an Autism Epidemic?.


5. Mind-reading and Mind-Blindness.


6. Autism Aloneness.


7. The Difficulty of Talking to Others.


8. Intelligence and Special Talent.


9. A Fragmented World.


10. Sensations and Repetitions.


11. Seeing the Brain through a Scanner.


12. A Different Brain -

A Different Mind.


Index.

I got interested in autism/Asperger's in 2003 after hearing an NPR interview on Autism (i.e. the growing rates of autism in Silicon Valley and Sacramento). I realized that Asperger's Syndrome must have been what was wrong with a manager I worked for a few years earlier at a major aerospace company (up until this point I thought he was just a jerk with a PhD). I then read a couple of articles in Wired magazine on the Geek Syndrome which really motivated me to do some extensive reading on the subject. Then I ran across Firth's book "Autism: Explaining the Enigma".

Of all of the books and articles I have read to date on autism this book is the finest introduction to the subject for those who are interested in what autism is and is not. Anyone with an ounce of intellectual curiosity will find this a highly rewarding book, however, if you are looking for a "how to" book on curing or helping someone with autism you will be disappointed. This book provides insight not answers.

What Firth tries to address in this book is identifying what the essence of Autism is. This is extremely important since many of the characteristic features of autism show up in other disorders which are not autism. Firth has a very high clarity of thought in her effort to identify what is and isn't the essence of autism. For example, while mental retardation is very common in autism (>75% according to some accounts), it is not the characteristic that makes someone autistic, since there are mentally retarded individuals who are not autistic.

What I really like about Firth's book is not only her clarity of thinking but the quality of intellectual honesty in dissecting the autism question.

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