| |
Basic InformationMore InformationLatest NewsUnexplained Drop in Resting Heart Rate in Youth 'Not a Good Thing'Strike Out Kids' Overuse Injuries This Baseball SeasonMost Young Americans Eager to Get COVID Vaccine: PollMany Kids Who Develop Severe COVID-Linked Syndrome Have Neurologic SymptomsMost Parents OK About School Rules for Kids' Return to Sports: PollSome Kids Snore, and It Could Affect BehaviorKids With Autism Can Really Benefit From ExerciseFDA Approves First New Children's ADHD Drug in 10 YearsWhy Are ER Wait Times Getting Longer for Kids in Mental Health Crisis?About 40,000 U.S. Children Have Lost a Parent to COVID-19Adding in Stem Cell Therapy Helps Beat a Common Childhood LeukemiaWhat Will Summer Camp Look Like This Year?When Will America's Kids Get Their COVID Vaccines?1 in 4 Parents Won't Vaccinate Their Kids Against COVID-19: PollEven in a Pandemic, Child Vision Tests Are CrucialPfizer Says Its COVID Vaccine Is Very Effective in Kids as Young as 12Secondhand Smoke Is Sending Kids to the ERDrug Shows Promise Against Rare Condition That Stunts Kids' GrowthWhen Coal-Fired Power Plants Close, Kids With Asthma Breathe EasierAnother Study Finds COVID Doesn't Spread in Schools With Proper SafeguardsNearly Half of U.S. Schools Now Offer In-Person LearningLockdowns Gave Boost to Type 1 Diabetes Control in KidsWildfire Smoke Can Send Kids With Asthma to the ERPandemic Has Many Kids Struggling With Weight IssuesLab-Made Heart Valves Can Grow Along With Youngest Heart PatientsSome Kids With Type 1 Diabetes Face High Risk of Severe COVID-19Virtual Learning Has Taken a Toll on Kids' & Parents' Mental HealthCDC Says 3 Feet of Social Distancing Now OK in Most ClassroomsWhich Kids' Sports Have Higher Odds for Head Injury?Social Distancing Probably Stopped 2020 Outbreak of Paralyzing Disorder in KidsAHA News: What Parents Should Know About Rare But Scary COVID-19-Related IllnessSchool Dental Care Program Could Cut Cavities in Half: StudySocial Media, Binge Eating Often Go Together for KidsStressed and Distracted, Kids and Their Teachers Say Virtual Learning Isn't WorkingSports Position Doesn't Affect Risk of Concussion-Linked CTE IllnessPandemic Putting Added Strain on Parents of Kids With CancerDogs and Kids Are 'In Sync,' Study ShowsTeachers Main Drivers of School COVID Outbreaks, So Vaccinations Needed: StudyTips to Keep Young Athletes Injury-FreeMental Illness in Childhood Could Mean Worse Physical Health Decades LaterKids' Robust Immune Systems May Shield Them From COVID-19: StudyFertility Treatments Might Affect Kids' Growth, But Not for LongMom's Heart Health While Pregnant Could Influence Her Child's Health for YearsPandemic Has Affected Kids' Dental Health: PollNew Rabies Prevention Treatment Also Works in Kids: StudyWhen Will Kids Get the COVID Vaccines?U.S. Schools Can Reopen, With Safeguards in Place: CDCFetal Surgery Is Changing Lives for Kids With Spina BifidaKids Who Got Flu Shot Had Milder COVID Symptoms: StudyVery Little Spread of Coronavirus at Kids' Day Camps: Study Questions and AnswersVideosLinksBook Reviews100 Things Guys Need to Know3 NBS of Julian DrewA Guide to Asperger SyndromeA Tribe ApartA User Guide to the GF/CF Diet for Autism, Asperger Syndrome and AD/HDA Walk in the Rain With a BrainAdolescence and Body ImageAdolescent DepressionAfterAggression and Antisocial Behavior in Children and AdolescentsAll Alone in the UniverseAmelia RulesAmericaAnother PlanetAntisocial Behavior in Children and AdolescentsArtemis FowlAssessment and Treatment of Childhood Problems, Second EditionAutistic Spectrum DisordersBad GirlBetween Two WorldsBeyond AppearanceBeyond Diversity DayBig Mouth & Ugly GirlBill HensonBipolar DisordersBody Image, Eating Disorders, and ObesityBody Image, Eating Disorders, and Obesity in YouthBoyBoysBrandedBreaking PointBreathing UnderwaterBringing Up ParentsBullying and TeasingCan't Eat, Won't EatCatalystChild and Adolescent Psychological DisordersChildren Changed by TraumaChildren with Emerald EyesChildren’s Dreaming and the Development of Consciousness City of OneConcise Guide to Child and Adolescent PsychiatryConquering the Beast WithinContentious IssuesCrackedCutDancing in My NuddypantsDemystifying the Autistic ExperienceDescartes' BabyDilemmas of DesireDirtyDoing ItDoing SchoolDying to Be ThinEating an ArtichokeEducating Children With AutismElijah's CupEllison the ElephantEmerald City BluesEmotional and Behavioral Problems of Young ChildrenEvery Girl Tells a StoryFast GirlsFeather BoyFiregirlForever YoungFreaks, Geeks and Asperger SyndromeFreewillGeography ClubGeorgia Under WaterGirl in the MirrorGirlfightingGirlsourceGirlWiseGLBTQGood GirlsGoodbye RuneGranny Torrelli Makes SoupGrowing Up GirlHandbook for BoysHealing ADDHeartbeatHelping Children Cope With Disasters and TerrorismHelping Parents, Youth, and Teachers Understand Medications for Behavioral and Emotional ProblemsHollow KidsHow Children Learn the Meanings of WordsHow to Keep Your Teenager Out of Trouble and What to Do If You Can'tHug MeIntrusive ParentingIt's Me!It's Perfectly NormalJake RileyJoey Pigza Swallowed the KeyJuvenile-Onset SchizophreniaKeeping the MoonKilling MonstersKim: Empty InsideKnocked Out by My Nunga-NungasLaura Numeroff's 10-Step Guide to Living with Your MonsterLearning About School ViolenceLeo the Lightning BugLet Kids Be KidsLiberation's ChildrenLife As We Know ItLisa, Bright and DarkLittle ChicagoLord of the FliesLoserLove and SexLove That DogManicMastering Anger and AggressionMind FieldsMiss American PieMom, Dad, I'm Gay.MonsterMore Than a LabelMyths of ChildhoodNew Hope for Children and Teens with Bipolar DisorderNo Two AlikeNot Much Just Chillin'Odd Girl OutOdd Girl Speaks OutOn the Frontier of AdulthoodOne Hot SecondOne in ThirteenOphelia SpeaksOphelia's MomOur Journey Through High Functioning Autism and Asperger SyndromeOut of the DustOvercoming School AnxietyParenting and the Child's WorldParenting Your Out-Of-Control TeenagerPediatric PsychopharmacologyPeriod PiecesPhobic and Anxiety Disorders in Children and AdolescentsPINSPraising Boys WellPraising Girls WellPretty in PunkPrincess in the SpotlightProblem Child or Quirky Kid?Psychotherapy As PraxisPsychotherapy for Children and AdolescentsRaising a Self-StarterRaising BlazeRaising Resilient ChildrenReclaiming Our ChildrenRedressing the EmperorReducing Adolescent RiskRethinking ADHDReweaving the Autistic TapestryRineke DijkstraRitalin is Not the Answer Action GuideRunning on RitalinSay YesSexual Teens, Sexual MediaSexuality in AdolescenceShooterShort PeopleShould I Medicate My Child?Skin GameSmackSmashedStaying Connected to Your TeenagerStick FigureStoner & SpazStop Arguing with Your KidsStraight Talk about Your Child's Mental HealthStrong, Smart, & BoldStudent DepressionSurvival Strategies for Parenting Children with Bipolar DisorderSurviving OpheliaTaking Charge of ADHD, Revised EditionTaming the Troublesome ChildTargeting AutismTeaching Problems and the Problems of TeachingTeen Angst? NaaahThat SummerThe American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook Of Child And Adolescent PsychiatryThe Arctic IncidentThe Bipolar ChildThe Buffalo TreeThe Bully, the Bullied, and the BystanderThe Carnivorous CarnivalThe Depressed ChildThe Developing MindThe Dragons of AutismThe Dream BearerThe Dulcimer Boy The Einstein SyndromeThe EpidemicThe Eternity CubeThe Explosive ChildThe Field of the DogsThe First IdeaThe Identity TrapThe Inside Story on Teen GirlsThe Little TernThe Mean Girl MotiveThe Men They Will BecomeThe Myth of LazinessThe New Gay TeenagerThe Notebook GirlsThe Nurture AssumptionThe Opposite of InvisibleThe Order of the Poison OakThe Other ParentThe Present Moment in Psychotherapy and Everyday LifeThe Real Truth About Teens and SexThe Rise and Fall of the American TeenagerThe Secret Lives of GirlsThe Sex Lives of TeenagersThe Shared HeartThe Spider and the BeeThe StepsThe Thought that CountsThe Unhappy ChildThe Vile VillageThe Whole ChildThen Again, Maybe I Won'tTherapy with ChildrenThings I Have to Tell YouTouching Spirit BearTrauma in the Lives of ChildrenTreacherous LoveTrue BelieverTwistedUnhappy TeenagersWay to Be!We're Not MonstersWhat about the KidsWhat Would Joey Do?What's Happening to My Body? Book for BoysWhat's Happening to My Body? Book for GirlsWhen Nothing Matters AnymoreWhen Sex Goes to SchoolWhen Your Child Has an Eating DisorderWhere The Kissing Never StopsWhose America?Why Are You So Sad?WinnicottWorried All the TimeYes, Your Teen Is Crazy!You Hear MeYoung People and Mental HealthYour Child, Bully or Victim? |
| |
by William Stillman Jessica Kingsley, 2002 Review by Kristin Nelson, M.A. on Jul 30th 2004
Demystifying the Autistic
Experience is meant to be an insider's revelation to the rest of us about
what it is like to live on the autism spectrum. Rather than examine autism
from a clinical perspective the author attempts to describe and explain the
inner experiences that people with autism have, thus "demystifying"
what often appears to others as odd behaviors and inexplicable needs. This
approach is tantalizing. Those who have relationships with people on the
spectrum can't help but wonder what the world looks like from behind that
special lens.
Stillman's central thesis is that
we are all more alike than different. In an effort to demonstrate this he
invites us to step inside the autistic experience and consider how we would
relate to the world given the constraints and needs of a person with autism.
It is not merely a phenomenological journey however. The book is replete with
strategies for helping people with autism and those who care for them integrate
into the neurotypical world. What is unique and most valuable about this book
is that it invites us to problem solve based on the values and perspectives of
the person with autism first and the expectations of society second. When the
inevitable compromises have to be made, he suggests we make them in such a way
that we respect the validity of autism as a world view.
It is clear that part of Stillman's
intention in writing this book is to promote his belief that autism is a core
part of the identity of an individual with the disorder – something that cannot
and should not be changed. This latter claim is presented uncritically. That
is, he does not make a case for why we should not attempt to "cure"
autism rather than accommodate it. His point regarding the need to accept the
individual with autism as a person first and foremost is well taken.
Nonetheless, accepting a person with autism as a person with inherent dignity
and rights may just as readily entail a responsibility to treat autism as to
value it. This issue deserves a much more comprehensive discussion, but is not
addressed in the book. In fact, there is very little that a person with
philosophical questions will find to entertain him in this book. It is written
in a straightforward manner that offers pragmatic commentary and constructive
strategies, but not critical reflection.
Stillman draws from his own
experiences as a person with Asperger Syndrome and from the experiences of
friends on the autism spectrum. The most powerful contribution of the book is
its constant reminder that we need to view people with autism as individuals
and not as a set of behaviors. Stillman recounts various incidents he has
encountered that demonstrate the tendency to treat people with autism as
objects to be handled rather than as people with whom to relate. To that end,
much of the advice in the book is geared toward how to relate to people with
autism so that we do not fall into that tired trap.
Each of the book's eight chapters
begins with a bullet point list of what will be demystified in that chapter and
ends with a bullet point list of guiding principles. There is no chance that
the reader will miss the author's intended lessons. Most of the strategies and
accommodations presented in this book can be found elsewhere but the author
does a commendable job of motivating the reader to use the strategies by
linking them to the internal thought structures and reasoning of people with
autism. Chapters focus on the importance of listening to people with autism,
communication methods, the value of passions, educational modifications,
sensory and sensitivity issues, mental health and mental well being,
self-revelation by the author, and finally some exercises for building support
teams. There doesn't seem to be a cohesive theme to the choice of chapter
topics nor is any single topic covered exhaustedly. For instance, educational
accommodations and strategies can hardly be done justice in the twenty-four
pages allotted here. And the chapter on the author's self revelation is not
particularly meaningful nor useful to the reader. On the other hand, the
chapter on mental health stands out as an important contribution to the
generally neglected issue of the lack of knowledge around the co-morbidity of
mental health problems in persons with autism.
At the end of this well-intentioned
book we are left to ask whether the author has succeeded in demystifying the
autistic experience or has he merely revealed the experiences and beliefs of
one person within the autism community? Does he speak for and speak to the vast
differences within that community?
© 2004 Kristin
Nelson
Kristin
Nelson, M.A., is an assistant professor and medical ethicist at
Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center & Rush University in Chicago. She is also the mother of four-year-old twins on the
autism spectrum.
|