Monday, September 16, 2019

Edith Sheffer's Asperger's Children: The Origins of Autism in Nazi Vienna

Title: Asperger's Children The Origins of Autism in Nazi Vienna
Author: Edith Sheffer
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company (2018)

Edith Sheffer is a historian of Germany and central Europe, and a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Europen Studies at the University of California, Berkeley at the point of printing of this book. This book will be a must read for anyoen who wants a historical perspective and depth to what is known commonly as the Asperger Syndrome and that of what is commonly referred to as "Autism".

This book carries out a series of investigations of the historical and socio-political context particularly around the period of Nazi Vienna, which could have shaped what we now know as autism.

The author's beloved son wasdiagnosed with autism when he was seventeen months old. Yet he was aganist the idea of autism and the position is: "Autism is not real; we all have issues. However, some are more noticeable than others. Autism is not a diability or diagnosis. It is a stereotype for certain individuals. People with autism should be treated like everyone else, because if they are not, it will make them be even less social...."

Definitely a book that I would recommend all professionals who work with people diagnosed with any form of Autism Spectrum Disorder, for a glimpse of what could be a historical and socio-political context that could have shaped autism.

Personally, I will be curious to find out whether even earlier in history, how societies or cultures view people who could have presented descriptions of behaviours that appear similar to what has been identified today as typically behaviours presented by people diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Read: Simone's Aspergirls

Author: Rudy Simone
Title: Aspergirls: Empowering Females with Asperger Syndrome
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers (2010)

This is a very accessible book possibly written for females with Asperger Syndrome, their parents, family members, partners, and everyone else. It appears to distinct itself by highlighting that the symptoms and challenges presented by females with Asperger Syndrame are often different from those than males with the same diagnosis. This book is aimed to be a handbook written by "an Aspergirl for Aspergirls".

A very accessible read with a personal perspective for anyone who is curious to read more about this end of the Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Read: Grandin's The Autistic Brain

Author: Temple Grandin and Richard Panek
Title: The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2013)

An insightful read from Temple Grandin and Richard Panek on the Autistic Brain. The key narrative voice of this book seemed to be that of Temple Grandin who speaks from her personal experiences combined with her understanding of research on autism.

This book sheds light on how neuroimaging and the technology of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging sheds deeper light into the anatomical structures inside the brain, and the likely difference between a neural-typical brain and that of someone who could have an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis.

I am left with the question, is ASD truly predetermined biologically or influenced by nurture. This remained open for further investigations.

This is one of the books I would recommend a read for an understanding in the topic of ASD.