Rating: 
Summary: We need a companion volume --- and fast!
Review: The word "autism" is most closely associated in the minds of many people with Dustin Hoffman's portrayal of Raymond in the film, Rain Man. While the movie, and the portrayal, did much to raise the level of public awareness of this disorder, what was lost on most of the audience was the observation of the small-town physician approximately halfway through the film that Raymond was, in his words, "high-functioning." As with most conditions, autism exists across a wide range of severity and impacts the individual in different ways.The reader encountering Karen Zelan's BETWEEN THEIR WORLD AND OURS is best served by being at least marginally acquainted with what autism is. Zelan assumes the reader is familiar with the subject matter. This is not a criticism; Zelan does not pretend that her work is a textbook for Autism 101. If it appears to be aimed at any audience, it would be the parents of young children who are themselves dealing with the condition afflicting their child, and assisting that child in dealing with it. The book begins with an overview, followed by a summary of the cases of a number of children whom Zelan has encountered and/or treated over the years who have been classified as autistic. She then discusses various topics of interest in assisting the autistic child --- socialization, problem solving, self-awareness and friendship, among others --- and devotes some time to an account of a school that provides special focus on assisting young autists. The final chapters in BETWEEN THEIR WORLD AND OURS provide Zelan's suggestions on what to do with, and for, childhood autists and what hope lies on the horizon for the understanding and treatment of the condition. Zelan is both an assister and an advocate for autists and, as is often the case with such individuals, may go a bit overboard. Her statement near the end of her work that "(A)utism, as lived out, is not so much a disease as it is a social condition" is certainly one with which reasonable and educated minds could differ. There are also those who may take issue with some of the accommodating classroom methods that she finds so wonderful; there are legitimate questions as to whether these are more harmful than helpful. The world makes demands; a program that prods, however gently, the autist to adapt to the world would appear to be more beneficial to the autist than having the autist's world adapt to him or her. That, ultimately, is not going to happen. Indeed, Zelan appears to tacitly acknowledge this in her "What To Do" chapter, a short but informative guide to the parents of autists as to how to assist their child in the home environment. However, the major benefit of BETWEEN THEIR WORLD AND OURS is the repeated message to parents that autism is a neurological condition, not the result of a trauma or parenting deficiency. Zelan has studied and worked with young autists for over 40 years, and the individuals whose cases are discussed in BETWEEN THEIR WORLD AND OURS have, apparently, all attained their majority. A companion volume to this one, discussing what ultimately happened to these children, particularly the ones encountered in the classroom setting, would be even more interesting, and most welcome. --- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
| 
