Not Even Wrong: Adventures in Autism (2004)

Paul Collins probably knows that one tree does not a forest make. Unfortunately, he fails to realize that two or three are no more forest-like than one.

This book about autism, but it is, I fear, a rather parochial autism. Collins knows his autistic son Morgan. He has learned from autism researcher Simon Baron-Cohen. And he has studied the case of "Peter the Wild Boy," who is offered as an eighteenth century example of autism. From there -- he does on talk about autism and its manifestations as if this is all the manifestations there are.

Even his starting point may be wrong. "Peter" didn't talk, but that doesn't guarantee that he was autistic; it is possible that -- like the famous modern case of "Genie" -- he simply was not talked to at the age when people learn how to talk. Anyone not given the chance to speak in those early years is just about certain to be non-verbal.

As for Simon "Extreme Male Brain" Baron-Cohen, his views are very widely heard but really not widely held. Baron-Cohen has done important work, e.g. in his research on the "Sally-Ann Test" for "Theory of Mind." But -- as a person with autism -- I can guarantee you that the Extreme Male Brain hypothesis doesn't work for me, and I know plenty of other autistics for whom I don't think it works either. Similarly, while many people with autism "think in pictures" as Temple Grandin does, many do not. (Here again, I'm an example.)

Nor are all people with autism scientifically inclined, nor do they always have peculiarities of speech, nor do they have anything in common except (by definition) difficulties in social communication and a tendency toward repetitive behavior. There are people with autism who are like the boy Morgan in the book. But the majority are not, and most of the descriptions Collins gives are descriptions of Morgan and his tribe, not of people with autism.

Oh, and Mr. Collins, if you're going to be wrong, at least don't perpetuate stereotypes: "autistics are the ultimate introverts" (p. 189). Yes, some people with autism are hard to get out of their shells. Some don't seem to realize that other people exist. But many -- probably the large majority, if anyone bothered to measure -- want to be social; it's just that they aren't good at it, and get driven away, and eventually stop trying.

It's no surprise that Collins doesn't understand the full spectrum of autism. It took me a lot of time around the local autism society to realize that I was no more typical of autism than I am typical of neurotypicals. No one is typical of autism! And anyone who takes this book and assumes it will teach you all about autism will be very, very badly deceived.

If you read it with that in mind, you will learn a lot. Otherwise, it may lead you far astray. ( )

4.5 stars. Might not be the best book that can get tagged 'autism' but definitely should be the first for parents who have discovered that their child is autistic, because it addresses the process of discovery and the reactions of the parents this life-changing experience. Also highly recommended for teachers, young people considering a career in psychology or special education, etc.

Collins shares his own experiences with his toddler, giving us hope that with early intervention a child has a good chance of being able to be happy in his own world but still able to function in the larger realm of the neurotypical.

And he includes engaging anecdotes of lots of historical examples of patients, doctors, and other eccentrics to illustrate the syndrome. Plus he's got a way with words that I just love. Bonus - an annotated bibliography.

If you've read, or put on your to-read shelf, [b:Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's|454856|Look Me in the Eye My Life with Asperger's|John Elder Robison|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320509615s/454856.jpg|2119898], [b:Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant|74812|Born on a Blue Day Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant|Daniel Tammet|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170864661s/74812.jpg|1461054], [b:Marcelo In The Real World|3700085|Marcelo In The Real World|Francisco X. Stork|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1230930906s/3700085.jpg|3743599], etc., or even [b:Flowers for Algernon|18373|Flowers for Algernon|Daniel Keyes|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327870353s/18373.jpg|3337594] or [b:Lottery|759175|Lottery|Patricia Wood|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328042892s/759175.jpg|2549658], read this soon.

Oh, and the reason I say soon is because I'm hoping we get another memoir from Collins. We first met Morgan in [b:Sixpence House: Lost in A Town Of Books|242201|Sixpence House Lost in A Town Of Books|Paul Collins|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1312027019s/242201.jpg|234645] and it's wonderful & enriching to watch his development.

And you've other books, esp. memoirs of any person w/ cognitive or neurological challlenges, to recommend, please leave a comment here. Thanks! ( )

This was a wonderful book. This was a fabulous book. This may be the best book I've ever read about autism, with the exception of Temple Grandin's [Thinking in Pictures].

Paul Collins is an historian. He is also the father of a son with autism. This book is kind of hard to describe. It combines history (people of the past with autism and those who dealt with/ reacted to them), and a memoir of his experience of life with his young son with autism, and some modern-day developments in dealing with autism. It is well-written and engaging. There were moments when I laughed out loud -- not so much that the material was funny, but simply out of RECOGNITION, because I'd lived the experience with my son and it was so good to see someone putting a loving spin on what so many people recount with gloom.

So many autism memoirs make me sad because I relive unhappy times, or wish I'd done things differently. This one reminded me why I love my son so much, and made me better appreciate the special view he has of life.

Enthusiastically recommended to anyone even remotely interested in the topic of Autism!!! ( )

What a wonderful book. Collins writes about autism from both a journalistic and a personal standpoint. His stories about Morgan, his autistic son, are tender and loving, while his explorations into the science of autism are incisive and simply fascinating. There are revelations here for the layperson interspersed with a very well-written memoir. Highly recommended. ( )

Informative, emotional, sophisticated, and ultimately optimistic

- No substantive concerns

This is such a lovely book that I wish that you would read it so we can talk about it. Paul Collins and his wife learn that their son is autistic (probably in the Asperger's range, though he doesn't say). Collins evokes a parent's vulnerability and tenderness in relation to his son. The story of their son Morgan and their relationship with him is interwoven with historical material on feral children, savants, artists, scientists, and other probable autists. I am reasonably conversant with the literature on autism spectrum disorders, but I learned several new facts from Collins and enjoyed his restrained excoriaton of Bettelheim.

Collins is a good writer and I hope to read his earlier Banvard's Folly: Thirteen Tales of People Who Didn't Change the World soon. I enjoyed the juxtapositions of family and historical tales, particularly since these conjunctions lend a pattern-seeking layer to the reader's experience. I would have liked to know more about Morgan's mother, Jennifer. She is the most elusive character in Morgan's story.
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