The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum

by Temple Grandin, Richard Panek Narrated by Andrea Gallo

Overview

A cutting-edge account of the latest science of autism, from the best-selling author and advocate

When Temple Grandin was born in 1947, autism had only just been named. Today it is more prevalent than ever, with one in 88 children diagnosed on the spectrum. And our thinking about it has undergone a transformation in her lifetime: Autism studies have moved from the realm of psychology to neurology and genetics, and there is far more hope today than ever before thanks to groundbreaking new research into causes and*treatments. Now Temple Grandin reports from the forefront of autism science, bringing her singular perspective to a thrilling journey into the heart of the autism revolution.

Weaving her own experience with remarkable new discoveries, Grandin introduces the neuroimaging advances and genetic research that link brain science to behavior, even sharing her own brain scan to show us which anomalies might explain common symptoms. We meet the scientists and self-advocates who are exploring innovative theories of what causes autism and how we can diagnose and best treat it. Grandin also highlights long-ignored sensory problems and the transformative effects we can have by treating autism symptom by symptom, rather than with an umbrella diagnosis. Most exciting, she argues that raising and educating kids on the spectrum isn't just a matter of focusing on their weaknesses; in the science that reveals their long-overlooked strengths she shows us new ways to foster their unique contributions.

From the “aspies” in Silicon Valley to the five-year-old without language, Grandin understands the true meaning of the word spectrum. The Autistic Brain is essential reading from the most respected and beloved voices in the field.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly - Audio

09/02/2013
Grandin and Panek explore neuroimaging, genetics, and brain science in this book that looks at what causes autism and how it can be treated and diagnosed. Though coauthored, the narrative is largely told from Grandin’s point of view, with many first-person references. This filtering of the prose through Grandin allows narrator Andrea Gallo to read in a more personal manner that represents Grandin’s singular voice. Gallo shifts to a more critical tone when she reads sections in which Grandin and Panek offer commentary on current practices related to the treatment of autism. A fascinating listen and a winning performance from Gallo. A Houghton Mifflin Harcourt hardcover. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

If you want to know why an autistic person acts the way he or she does, “you have to go beyond” behavior and “into his or her brain,” according to Grandin (Thinking in Pictures) and science writer Panek (The 4% Universe). Since 1987, when Grandin, a noted Colorado State University animal science professor, became “one of the first autistic subjects to undergo” an MRI, she has taken multiple “journey to the center of mind” in the hope that neuroimaging technologies will lead to a better understanding of autism. “From the start, medical professionals didn’t know what to do with autism. Was the source of these behaviors biological, or was it psychological?” Now, 70 years after Johns Hopkins University M.D. Leo Kanner gave the first diagnosis, researchers are making huge strides. The authors urge parents, teachers, and society to focus on the strengths of autistics, and they devise a “three-ways-of-thinking model”—by pictures, patterns, or words/facts—to foster change in schools and the workplace. Grandin’s particular skill is her remarkable ability to make sense of autistics’ experiences, enabling readers to see “the world through an autistic person’s jumble of neuron misfires,” and she offers hope that one day, autism will be considered not according to some diagnostic manual, but to the individual. Illus. Agent: Betsy Lerner, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner. (Apr. 30)

From the Publisher

"[Grandin’s] most insightful work to date…The Autistic Brain is something anyone could benefit from reading, and I recommend it to anyone with a personal or professional connection to autism or neurological difference."—John Elder Robison, author of Look Me in the Eye   "In The Autistic Brain, Grandin explains what she's learned in recent years about her brain and the brains of others with autism." -- USA Today   "Grandin has reached a stunning level of sophistication about herself and the science of autism. Her observations will assist not only fellow autistics and families with affected members, but also researchers and physicians seeking to better understand the condition." — Jerome Groopman, The New York Review of Books   "Her visual circuitry extends well beyond where neurotypicals’ circuitry stops. Grandin is wired for long-term visual memory. She is sure that one day, autism will be explained by neurobiology. Her new book, The Autistic Brain, outlines that quest." -- Los Angeles Times   "Grandin has helped us understand autism not just as a phenomenon, but as a different but coherent mode of existence that otherwise confounds us…She excels at finding concrete examples that reveal the perceptual and social limitations of autistic and "neurotypical" people alike." — The New York Times   "Autism is a spectrum, and Temple is on one edge. Living on this edge has allowed her to be an extraordinary source of inspiration for autistic children, their parents—and all people." —Time   "The Autistic Brain can both enlighten readers with little exposure to autism and offer hope and compassion to those who live with the condition." —Scientific American   "The right brain has created the right book for right now." — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette   "An iconic example of someone who puts her strengths, and even her limitations, to good use." — KQED, San Francisco   "Temple Grandin has yet again been of enormous service to the millions of autistic individuals worldwide, to anyone labeled with a disability, and to the rest of us curious about the brain and the intricacies of human experience." — New York Journal of Books   "The Autistic Brain is an engaging look at life within the spectrum. It’s also an honest one." — HealthCare Book Reviews 　 "A tremendous gift, not just to patients and their families, but also to teachers, mentors, friends, and everyone who is interested in understanding how our brains make us who we are…This is a book everyone should read." — Dr. Ginger Campbell, Brain Science Podcast   "Highly recommended for anyone who knows or works with people on the spectrum." — Library Journal (Starred Review)   "Grandin’s particular skill is her remarkable ability to make sense of autistics’ experiences, enabling readers to see ‘the world through an autistic person’s jumble of neuron misfires,’ and she offers hope that one day, autism will be considered not according to some diagnostic manual, but to the individual." — Publishers Weekly   "An important and ultimately optimistic work." —Booklist   "An illuminating look at how neuroscience opens a window into the mind." —Kirkus

OCTOBER 2013 - AudioFile

Andrea Gallo’s sparkling performance works well to lighten the neuroscience that forms the basis of this fascinating book. Her energy gives the book a personality that listeners can connect with. And her appealing vocal presence will also help listeners overlook the phrasing glitches that appear throughout the audio—mainly out-of-place pauses that interrupt the otherwise natural rhythms of her speech. The principal author, Temple Grandin, who is autistic, shares her ongoing inquiry into the ways she is different and how neuroscience understands autism thus far. Her personal journey and the results of her meticulous scholarship are splendidly written and organized. This book has magnetic appeal, along with enough up-to-date technical information to fill a graduate-level course. T.W. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

Grandin (Animal Science/Colorado State Univ.; Different…Not Less: Inspiring Stories of Achievement and Successful Employment from Adults with Autism, Asperger's, and ADHD, 2012, etc.), whose life has been an inspiration to millions, warns parents, teachers and therapists of the danger of getting locked into diagnostic labels. With the assistance of science writer Panek (The 4% Universe: Dark Matter, Dark Energy and the Race to Discover the Rest of Reality, 2011, etc.), Grandin applies her experience and interviews with others on the autistic spectrum to the latest neuroscientific research. Describing the labels given to autism and other developmental disorders as "a clumsy system of behavioral profiling" that shifts with every new edition, she is critical of the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual and its revised diagnosis of "Autism Spectrum Disorder." She reviews how understanding of autism has developed since 1947, when she was born and so-called refrigerator moms were targeted for blame. Today, "observable neurological and genetic evidence" is beginning to reveal how a multiplicity of causes, including environmental factors, may be responsible for particular symptoms. Readers of Grandin's previous books and viewers of the award-winning 2010 biopic will be familiar with the details of her life and career as a high-functioning autistic. She has been a volunteer experimental subject since 1987, in the early days of MRIs, and scans of her brain reveal structural differences that appear to correlate with her disabilities and her extraordinary visual memory. Grandin is optimistic that future progress will improve diagnosis and education for non-neurotypicals who have many important gifts to contribute. An illuminating look at how neuroscience opens a window into the mind.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940178595183
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	10/26/2021
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	756,424

Read an Excerpt

The Meanings of Autism

I was fortunate to have been born in 1947. If I had been born ten years later, my life as a person with autism would have been a lot different. In 1947, the diagnosis of autism was only four years old. Almost nobody knew what it meant. When Mother noticed in me the symptoms that we would now label autistic—destructive behavior, inability to speak, a sensitivity to physical contact, a fixation on spinning objects, and so on—she did what made sense to her. She took me to a neurologist.

 

 Bronson Crothers had served as the director of the neurology service at Boston Children’s Hospital since its founding, in 1920. The first thing Dr. Crothers did in my case was administer an electroencephalogram, or EEG, to make sure I didn’t have petit mal epilepsy. Then he tested my hearing to make sure I wasn’t deaf. “Well, she certainly is an odd little girl,” he told Mother. Then when I began to verbalize a little, Dr. Crothers modified his evaluation: “She’s an odd little girl, but she’ll learn how to talk.” The diagnosis: brain damage.

 

 He referred us to a speech therapist who ran a small school in the basement of her house. I suppose you could say the other kids there were brain damaged too; they suffered from Down syndrome and other disorders. Even though I was not deaf, I had difficulty hearing consonants, such as the c in cup. When grownups talked fast, I heard only the vowel sounds, so I thought they had their own special language. But by speaking slowly, the speech therapist helped me to hear the hard consonant sounds, and when I said cup with a c, she praised me—which is just what a behavioral therapist would do today.

 

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