NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity (South Portland Book Club)

Agenda: A free-ranging, lively, and respectful discussion! (Don't worry, there will be a facilitator)Provided: Light snacks (thanks to our host, Urban Office)Current Theme: Evolution of the Mind (or something like that) Current book: Neurotribes by Steve Silberman -You don't have to have finished the book, but we hope you'll have been able to read at least some of it. If you have other sources with interesting info relevant to the book, you're welcome to bring that into the discussion as well. Please come excited to hear what others thought and to learn from each other! -  About the book: NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity A groundbreaking book that upends conventional thinking about autism and suggests a broader model for acceptance, understanding, and full participation in society for people who think differently. What is autism? A lifelong disability or a naturally occurring form of cognitive difference akin to certain forms of genius? In truth, it is all 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. NeuroTribes was the first science book to win the Samuel Johnson Prize. It has also won a California Book Award and a Books for a Better Life Award.

Urban Office
4949 SW Macadam Ave (Map)

Agenda: A free-ranging, lively, and respectful discussion! (Don't worry, there will be a facilitator)
Provided: Light snacks (thanks to our host, Urban Office)
Current Theme: Evolution of the Mind (or something like that)

Current book: Neurotribes by Steve Silberman


-
You don't have to have finished the book, but we hope you'll have been able to read at least some of it. If you have other sources with interesting info relevant to the book, you're welcome to bring that into the discussion as well. Please come excited to hear what others thought and to learn from each other!


About the book:

NeuroTribes:

The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity

A groundbreaking book that upends conventional thinking about autism and suggests a broader model for acceptance, understanding, and full participation in society for people who think differently.

What is autism? A lifelong disability or a naturally occurring form of cognitive difference akin to certain forms of genius? In truth, it is all 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.

NeuroTribes was the first science book to win the Samuel Johnson Prize. It has also won a California Book Award and a Books for a Better Life Award.