The Mind Tree: A Miraculous Child Breaks the Silence of Autism

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant book
Review: As autobiographies by autistic people go, this is a fairly good one. Written by an autistic boy from India, it details his early life, the sometimes brutal methods his mother used to teach him to type, and his life since he learned to communicate. He writes the story about himself primarily in the third person, and there is poetry at the end. This is basically an American release of _Beyond The Silence: My Life, The World, and Autism_ that was published in Great Britain in 2000.

The main difference -- perhaps the only difference -- between this book and its British counterpart, is the hype. It's clearly visible in the subtitle -- "Miraculous Child Breaks the Silence of Autism" strongly resembles the "Extraordinary Autobiography of an Autistic" from the subtitle of _Nobody Nowhere_, the earliest book by Donna Williams. This sensationalism used to be typical of books by autistic people who could speak, and it seems that people have taken longer to accept as normal books by autistic people who can't speak. Which is strange, considering both sorts of books have been around the same amount of time. There is a lot of talk on the back cover and the first several pages about how there is nobody in the world like Tito and his mother, how he is the first to write a book like this, and so forth. None of these claims are true, and other books like this by people who have learned to type using similar techniques have been published, but most of the others didn't have a powerful organization providing financial backing and publicity.

That said, it's actually a pretty good book. It does defy a lot of stereotypes, which along with the others like it, should be a good thing in the long run, as long as people remember that there is more than one book like this. The book is no more miraculous than it's miraculous that I'm sitting here typing this review, but the author has a writing style which should keep readers entertained and informed to the end. I especially liked the sections where the author describes being put in front of audiences and answering questions that he found easy, and getting a lot of attention for it. That seems to happen to a lot of autistic people, and his description is subtle and amusing. Readers familiar with books by autistic people will find his descriptions of sensory issues and cognition familiar as well.

I didn't like how indifferent he was about being smacked around until he paid attention -- a lot of authors, like Donna Williams, have addressed abuse specifically as something wrong while acknowledging that it may have caused some paradoxical benefits, and I wish this book had done the same. I was also smacked around in similar contexts, some of them resulting in things that may have been positive, but I don't condone it, thank the people who did it, or complain about people who tried to put a stop to it -- so that part disturbed me.

The author's plea for a society in which nobody would be viewed as 'normal or abnormal', but would all be respected as who we are, is well worth listening to. That is the most important message I would take away from this book. Beyond the glitzy hype on the cover is a real person who clearly wants to be seen as a real person, a predicament lots of autistic people can identify with.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant book
Review: I found this book absolutely fascinating. For a severely austistic child to be able to write and voice his thoughts is an incredible feat. All the hype behind it is very appropriate-this is a book that should have exactly that sort of exposure. Tito allowed his writings to be published, not only so they could be shared with the general public but also to raise awareness about autism. A severely austic child is clearly not a helpless case as many people before believed and if there are other books out there like this one, perhaps The Mind Tree will help bring attention to them.

Rating:
Summary: Extremly touching
Review: I loved Tito every moment I read the book and have immense respect for the dedication, persistence and effort of his mother Soma. She seems to be a very strong woman to handle it all alone. But I have to mention this that I hated the part where Tito writes he was hit hard until he paid attention. I have seen and heard of many successful people who cannot ever forget their childhood abuse by their parents even though they were for good reasons.This is a very wrong concept used earlier and is not encouraged any more by many many people these days. Even though hitting might prove right for some reason it does a permanent damage to one's inner self.

Rating:
Summary: The book that will change your perception of "normal" life
Review: My brother's daughter is a an autist child of similar age to Tito. This book has so emotionally moved me that I do not have Tito's genius to express them in words.

I understand that one child in every 250 born could be an autist. Then it is a must that the rest 249 must read this book.

Simply amazing and I wish a very happy life for Tito with the fullest kindness and consideration from humanity at large - the least I can wish for the author.