Overview

"What is autism: a lifelong disability or a naturally occurring form of cognitive difference akin to certain forms of genius? In truth, it is both of these things and more--and the future of our society depends on our understanding it. Wired reporter Steve Silberman unearths the secret history of autism, long suppressed by the same clinicians who became famous for discovering it, and finds surprising answers to the crucial question of why the number of diagnoses has soared in recent years.Going back to the earliest days of autism research and chronicling the brave and lonely journey of autistic people and their families through the decades, Silberman provides long-sought solutions to the autism puzzle, while mapping out a path for our society toward a more humane world in which people with learning differences and those who love them have access to the resources they need to live happier, healthier, more secure, and more meaningful lives.Along the way, he reveals the untold story of Hans Asperger, the father of Asperger's syndrome, whose ""little professors"" were targeted by the darkest social-engineering experiment in human history; exposes the covert campaign by child psychiatrist Leo Kanner to suppress knowledge of the autism spectrum for fifty years; and casts light on the growing movement of ""neurodiversity"" activists seeking respect, support, technological innovation, accommodations in the workplace and in education, and the right to self-determination for those with cognitive differences."

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9781504615907

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"Steve Silberman has covered science and cultural affairs for Wired and other national magazines for more than twenty years. His writing has appeared in the New Yorker, Time, Nature, and Salon. He lives in San Francisco. Oliver Sacks (1933-2015) was the author of twelve previous books, including The Mind's Eye, Musicophilia, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, and Awakenings (which inspired both the Oscar-nominated film and a play by Harold Pinter). The New York Times has referred to Dr. Sacks as ""the poet laureate of medicine,"" and he was a frequent contributor to the New Yorker and the New York Review of Books. He lived in New York City, where he was professor of neurology at the NYU School of Medicine for many years. William Hughes is a professor of political science at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon. He received his doctorate in American politics from the University of California, Davis. He has done voice-over work for radio and film and is also an accomplished jazz guitarist."

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