Autism-An Inside-Out Approach: An Innovative Look at the Mechanics of 'Autism' and Its Developmental 'Cousins'

Rating:
Summary: Extremely recommended reading
Review: Autism: An Inside-Out Approach, has succeeded in telling experts on autism things they didn't know.

Donna is intelligently critical of the popular and professional stereotypes of autism. She demands an end to the professional exclusivism and arrogance of so many proponents of therapies for autism. Donna proposes a "supermarket" approach, where the different therapies work together under the one roof to meet the unique set of problems of each autistic individual they serve.

Autism: An Inside-Out Approach answers the problem of Carol and Willie, Donna's "characters" Oliver Sacks discusses a similar personality phenomenon to Donna's "characters" during his description of Dr Temple Grandin in An Anthropologist From Mars.

The appendix to Autism: An Inside-Out Approach, is full of helpful advice on issues and problems involved in dealing with autism. There is also an international list of organisations and resource people Donna has found useful in her own struggle with autism.

Two quibbles with Donna's brilliant, very readable exposition of autism: The word "refraction" is repeatedly used to refer to "shining", reflected light. Secondly, her useful coverage of nutrition and immunology problems in autistic people does not fully reflect the full raft of problems and issues in this area of autism research.

Autism: An Inside-Out Approach is "extremely recommended" reading.