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Neurotribes: the Legacy of Autism and Future of Neurodiversity (Book Review)

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Neurotribes: the Legacy of Autism and Future of Neurodiversity (Book Review) Book Review NEUROTRIBES: THE LEGACY OF AUTISM AND FUTURE OF NEURODIVERSITY (BOOK REVIEW) Badr Ratnakaran Resident in Psychiatry, Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Roanoke, Virginia, USA. Correspondence: 2017, South Jefferson Street, Roanoke, Virginia, USA-24014. Email: [email protected] Title: Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and Future of Neurodiversity Author: Steve Silberman Publisher: Avery Publishing Pages: 542 Year: 2015 We, as doctors, are many a times enamored by the struggles of the patients and the medical fraternity stalwarts in the field of medicine. Hippocrates, who had to face not only the stigma when it was William Osler, Sigmund Freud, Watson and Crick, initially conceived as a “gay disease” but also the etc. are names well known to us from our early years apathy from the government and ego clashes as medical students. Their contributions have between scientists researching the disease. Stories shaped our knowledge, and some of us aspire to like these are not told in textbooks, and books like leave a mark in the field of medicine just like them. the ones mentioned above provide a humanistic view to the field of medicine. However, our textbooks mostly mention their names and contributions only in a sentence or two. There are numerous books on such narratives in the We do not know who they are as a person, their field of mental illness. The late Dr Oliver Sacks’ stories, their struggles, and what led them to their works have always been popular and captivate the discoveries and achievements. This includes how imagination of the general public with his accounts the practice of medicine shaped and evolved in time of fascinating presentations of neurological and with their contributions. Siddhartha Mukherjee’s psychiatric disorders. They have always left a 2011 Pulitzer Prize-winning The Emperor of All lasting impression on us in understanding the Maladies: A Biography of Cancer is one such book overlap between the science of these two branches which narrates the history of cancer from accounts of medicine. Ultimately, these accounts underline about it in Egyptian and Greek civilizations to how fascinating our brain is. current advancements in its research and treatment. The book in review, Neurotribes: The Legacy of Randy Shilt’s 1987 book And the Band Played on: Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity is written Politics, People and the AIDS Epidemic chronicles by Steve Silberman. Silberman is a journalist for the how the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and WIRED magazine, which focuses on technology subsequently the Acquired Immune Deficiency and how it shapes the world around us. Neurotribes Syndrome were discovered. It tells the story of Please cite this article as Ratnakaran B. Neurotribes: the legacy of autism and future of neurodiversity (Book Review). Kerala Journal of Psychiatry 2017; 30(2):120-3. DOI: 10.30834/KJP.30.2.2018.132 120 Kerala Journal of Psychiatry // 30(2); July - December 2017 is a New York Times bestseller and in 2015 had won “It is not true, however, that he wanted to remove the Samuel Johnson award, a prominent literary himself entirely from the company of his peers; he prize for nonfiction books. Before the release of this just wanted to stand off to the side, soaking book, Silberman had been well known for his article everything in. Two scientists conversing on a topic on the impact of placebo effect on research in the of interest at the Royal Society's Monday Club pharmaceutical industry.1 might notice a hunched figure in a grey-green coat lurking in the shadows, listening intently. Eager to The catalyst for Silberman’s book was his article solicit his appraisal of their work, his fellow natural “The Geek Syndrome”, where he discusses the philosophers devised a devious but effective method increasing number of children in the Silicon Valley, of drawing him into an exchange. California, USA, being diagnosed with autism.2 The book’s first chapter also starts from here on “The way to talk to Cavendish is never to look at Silberman’s encounters with many experts from him,” said astronomer Francis Wollaston, “but to science and technology. He notices their unique talk as it were, into a vacancy, and then it is not behavioral traits — from their fastidious fascination unlikely, but you may set him going.” Once he was to science along with their innovative skills, social set going, it turned out that he had plenty to say. “If awkwardness, and intolerance to sensory cues like he speaks to you, continue the conversation,” the alarm from a washing machine which a normal Wollaston advised.” person will find tolerable or trivial. He finds that Similar to the above excerpt, Silberman, through many of these traits are many a times found in a anecdotes, describes the lives of various prominent much severe form in the children of such people. personalities who belonged to the autism spectrum This leads them to be diagnosed with autism. Thus (AS), including scientists Temple Grandin and starts Silberman’s inquiry into the beginnings of the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Paul Dirac. We concept of autism and tracing its evolution through understand the evolution of the concept of autism time to our present world. from “schizophrenic reaction, childhood type” in With his gripping narrative through twelve the first edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual chapters, Silberman touches upon various themes of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1952 to its current related to autism. It starts with his wonderful acknowledgement of it as a spectrum of symptoms account on Lord Henry Cavendish, the famous as AS disorders in the current edition of DSM. He scientist from the 18th century whose many describes the influence of popular media on autism, pioneering works include the discovery of including the movie Rain Man’s (1988) influence on hydrogen. Silberman describes a day in the life of spreading awareness on autism when it had been a Lord Cavendish riddled by his preference of social relatively unknown entity, and the fascination for isolation. His daily life consisted of numerous rituals science fiction by those belonging to the AS. and routines with a penchant for accuracy and Through harrowing accounts of families and their precision in research .He was a man of knowledge children belonging to the AS, we are taken to and his acumen was considered in the highest regard periods where the prevailing treatments in by the elite British Royal Society, a learned society psychiatry were based on psychoanalysis and of prominent scientists in the world. This reviewer behavior therapy. Many of the treatment strategies feels that the following excerpt from the book were based on damaging theories and treatment of beautifully captures the essence of Lord Cavendish's autism including refrigerator mothers, holding behavior and how his colleagues would deal with therapy, parentectomy and acceptance of him: punishment as a therapy for stereotypical behaviors // www.kjponline.com 121 displayed by autistic children. We understand the might have thwarted the recognition of children genesis of the controversy behind the association of belonging to the less severe spectrum of autism. MMR vaccine and autism and the propagation of Silberman also hypothesizes that Leo Kanner, who orthomolecular treatment for autism which had no knew German, should have been aware of Hans scientific basis. In the process, we are introduced to Asperger’s works on autism. Especially since the rise and fall of George Wakefield, Bruno Kanner had worked with the Jewish psychologist Bettleheim and Bernard Rimland, who were once George Frankl who had also worked with Hans considered experts on autism based on the above- Asperger before fleeing the Nazi regime. George mentioned concepts but later became discredited Frankl, though not popularly credited, had been the and thus their fall from grace. They were humans common denominating factor in both Kanner’s and who started their journeys in efforts to help autistic Asperger’s works on autism as their chief children and their parents but fell to the follies of diagnostician. their egos and narrow-mindedness to accept their Coming to our present world, we see how mistakes or deviation from their views. technology like social media brings together people But, the book’s highlight lies in its biographical with autism and their caregivers. Using online fora accounts of two names synonymous with autism, and arranging social gatherings, they fight for their Hans Asperger and Leo Kanner. Silberman, by rights, make friends, and help cope with each other. describing Hans Asperger’s story, takes us to In the process, they find their niche and a space of Vienna under the Nazi regime. Silberman narrates acceptance. the political atmosphere of the Nazi regime at the In the end, Silberman persuades us to see disorders time and their eugenic policies. Fearing that like AS disorders, specific learning disorders, children with disabilities might be persecuted due to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, etc. as these policies, Hans Asperger might have selectively diverse presentations of normal human behavior (or highlighted only savants belonging to the AS. With “neurotribes” as mentioned by him). They should this effort, he might have tried to convince the Nazi be seen as variants of cognitive difference and not a regime that people belonging to the AS might be pathology. We should work towards providing highly skilful and important for the society, thus measures in helping them to integrate with our trying to save autistic children of all forms of society rather than trying to fix them to our severity. We learn about Leo Kanner’s humble expectancy of being normal human beings. This is beginnings and his rise as the highest authority on the core idea behind the neurodiversity movement autism during his time.
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