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youngthespian42's review against another edition
3.0
I read this after of recent diagnosis with autism. This is a comprehensive look at the history of autism and a great embracing of the evolving moment the scientific community is at with the autism spectrum. The book has a lot of content packed into it at times and read pretty dry but lots of information if you are jumping into the world of autism or want to learn more.
radella_hardwick's review against another edition
4.0
A truly comprehensive history of how we got to where we are today with all the terrible harm and mistakes that were done along the way.
This book touches on the idea of being autistic means running a different operating system to neurotypicals but still maintains that we're subject to a bunch of mini-conditions.
This book touches on the idea of being autistic means running a different operating system to neurotypicals but still maintains that we're subject to a bunch of mini-conditions.
kanejim57's review against another edition
emotional
informative
medium-paced
4.5
A helpful and informative book on the unfolding journey of and...battles with/for, regarding people who interact with their world differently. I found this book to be helpful in understanding the rise of what we today call neurodiversity.
dwarrowdams's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
An amazing read that gave a clear overview of the history of autism and looked towards the future. Incredibly well-researched and important.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Medical trauma, and Child death
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Antisemitism, and Physical abuse
Minor: Homophobia, Suicide, and Transphobia
cannibaldear's review against another edition
stop talking about Hans Asberger without calling him what he was - a Nazi doctor
crybabybea's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
2.0
I finished this out of spite because I wanted to DNF but was already 60% through. So overwrought and boring and dragged down by endless filler anecdotes and tangents from the author. I also really disliked the overall tone of the writing which seemed to paint problems that have plagued autism research as positive. The author also seemed to uplift stories from lower support needs autistics as inspiration porn while hand-waving away the cases of higher support needs autistics, which gave the book a voyeuristic, clinical tone that was hard to appreciate (I had similar issues to The Body Keeps the Score).
Comes across as outdated and incredibly boring for little to no knowledge gained. This would be a good read if you know absolutely nothing about the history of autism, but I didn't feel like I gained enough knowledge for how long this book was.
Comes across as outdated and incredibly boring for little to no knowledge gained. This would be a good read if you know absolutely nothing about the history of autism, but I didn't feel like I gained enough knowledge for how long this book was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Forced institutionalization