Not Even Wrong
Adventures In Autism
by Paul Collins When two year old Morgan is diagnosed with Autism, his father, the author, is somewhat shocked, somewhat scared- the usual reaction of parents. When studying about Peter the Wild Boy, a boy from history who was found in the wild, acting like an animal, and who was then displayed and tamed, the author reads "an early case of autism". Peter was a favorite of King George I. He never was really civilized; he never learned to have a concersation or how to interact with people. Seeing the connection between Peter and his son, Collins begins to study the history of autism. A general history of autists and autism is interlaced with his account of how his son was treated and dealt with.
Collins tells us about famous and formerly famous autists from history, and about the evolution of thought on autism. He talks about some of the systems built to deal with autism, such as the Library of Faces, theories as to what autism, tests for autism. What Collins chooses to include and leave out seem to be somewhat strange choices; he does not discuss, for example ABA therapy, medications, or any of the treatments for autism that are more intrusive. He discusses sensory problems only to mention that part of sensory processing superior in the autist (synaesthesia), and doesn't mention that all autists have sensory processing disfunctions. He chooses only to present the theory that autism is genetic, finding evidence in his own family, rather than present other theories on autism, which is especially strange because of the fact that the incidence of autism is rising exponentially. He chooses to talk mostly about autists with extrodinary talents, and mention only in passing the existance of others. Collins chooses the most innocuous autists to cover, going so far as to say that you won't generally find autists in jail; however there are many dangerously irresponsible autists in jail. Epilepsy is very common in autists, as are a number of other medical problems, but Collins doesn't cover those either. Collins appears to have covered mostly that which he could parallel to his son, and mostly the positive parts of that. Because of this,
Not Even Wrong has a much more cheerful, positive perspective on autism than most books on autism do.
Happy educational reading.
