NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity

By Steve Silberman

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, Silberman offers a gripping narrative of Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger, the research pioneers who defined the scope of autism in profoundly different ways; he then goes on to explore the game-changing concept of neurodiversity. NeuroTribes considers the idea that neurological differences such as autism, dyslexia, and ADHD are not errors of nature or products of the toxic modern world, but the result of natural variations in the human genome. This groundbreaking book will reshape our understanding of the history, meaning, function, and implications of neurodiversity in our world.

Symptoms of Autism in Infants and Children

Some children show signs of autism spectrum disorder in early infancy. Signs usually are seen by age 2 years.

Social Communication and Interaction

Communication issues like:
- a chile not responding to his or her own name
- delayed speech
- hard to communicate with and may use a singsong voice or robot-like speech
- repeats words or phrases verbatim
Prefers playing alone
Reduced eye contact and lacks facial expression
Does not express emotions
Does not point at or bring objects to share interest
Inappropriately approaches a social interaction by being passive, aggressive or disruptive
Has difficulty recognizing nonverbal cues, such as interpreting other people's facial expressions, body postures or tone of voice

Patterns of Behaviour

Performs repetitive movements
Performs activities that could cause harm
Develop specific routines or rituals
Has odd movement patterns or coordination problems
Fascination for details like spinning wheels of a toy car
Sensitive to light, sound or touch
Does not engage in make-believe play
Abnormal focus on object or activity
Specific food preferences such as _eating only a few foods, or refusing foods with a certain texture_

Main Signs of Autism in Adults

Finding it hard to understand what others are thinking or feeling
Getting very anxious about social situations
Finding it hard to make friends or preferring to be on your own
Seeming blunt, rude or not interested in others without meaning to
Finding it hard to say how you feel
Taking things very literally – for example, you may not understand sarcasm or phrases like "break a leg"
Having the same routine every day and getting very anxious if it changes

Sources:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/autism-spectrum-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20352928)

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/autism/signs/adults/#:~:text=finding%20it%20hard%20to%20understand,in%20others%20without%20meaning%20to

Host rating for 'NeuroTribes'

Nico

Rating: 5/10

Sam

Rating: 4/10

Subscribe!

If you enjoyed the podcast please subscribe and rate it. And of course, share with your friends!

You can also listen and join us on [ReasonFM](https://reason.fm/podcast/wiser-than-yesterday) or just ask questions.

Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode

See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NEURODIVERSITY - AUTISM: NeuroTribes; Th...