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Emergence: Labeled Autistic - very short book review
There's been a lot going on lately, and we're moving house this weekend (yes, I know, again). One of my guinea pigs died on Sunday, and even though I'm taking my Cipralex like a good girl, the depression with regards to that just isn't going away. So when I woke up this morning and there was a foot of snow on the ground (and on my car) and the radio traffic reports were saying that hills and ramps were really slippery (and Calgary is all hills), I decided I should call in absent to work, take an unpaid day off, and get myself that desperately needed day to myself.
Well, I haven't been totally unproductive. I wrote part of my Script Frenzy movie (it's like NaNoWriMo, only for a 100-page script), edited/rewrote two more chapters of my 2006 NaNo novel, put away the clean dishes, and sorted out the clean laundry. In a little while, I'll be doing some market research - basically, "where can I send this article/story, and do I have any ideas for this place since it sounds good?"
I also took a bath and finally finished reading Emergence: Labeled Autistic, by Temple Grandin.
Temple is, of course, one of the more famous autistic adults in the world. Bernard Rimland wrote the Foreword and calls her a recovered autistic; nowhere in the book do I see that possibility.
The book is very well-written, and I love the visual language Temple uses throughout. I am partially a visual thinker myself, and I have always appreciated such things in writing. (Not long passages of description, mind you, but those turns of phrase that immediately evoke an image so that you are able to see the scene in your mind's eye.)
In her last chapter, Temple talks about various points that parents and professionals should think about when they encounter an autistic person. It is very good in its broad scope, and recognises a lot of the different approaches we might take in helping these people learn to navigate the world.
I would say that my only problem with this book is with the times Temple steps out of the narration to pontificate on her own theories of autism and autism treatment, education, thought, etc. As an autobiography, it is very good. However, the theories she presents don't quite sit right with me. It would take some research on my part to learn if any of them are actually based in psychological theory, as - like Temple - I have only an undergraduate degree in psychology.
All in all - I do recommend the book. Temple is a good example of the possibilities that exist for autistic people of all stripes. It is so important to find and nurture that one area of obsession - that one thing that can always culture perseveration, no matter what - and deal with any anxiety and sensory problems, while encouraging effective communication.
3 comments:
Looking out the window, it seems that snow is in the way here too. Not too surprising.
Sorry about the guinea pig. We have two and they're easy to get attached to.
This I would argue:
"However, the theories she presents don't quite sit right with me. It would take some research on my part to learn if any of them are actually based in psychological theory, as - like Temple - I have only an undergraduate degree in psychology."
That would be to give far too much credit to psychological theories, none of which would be undisputed by some other theory of psychology. I would think that an actual autistic would be worth more in terms of validity than some comodified common sense (literally, as applied to autistics) decked out in a fancy title.
I don't dispute that what she says may well be true for her, but she does generalize an awful lot.
The only other part that I have some trouble with is her discussion of thought/thinking in all people. Though she does admit up front that she doesn't understand other types of thinking.
It would be interesting, I think, to take some of the things she says and research those statements in terms of published studies regarding thought processes.
I think it is always dangerous to characterise a person's thinking by an old book they wrote, given that there depth of knowledge was not complete at that time and that exposure to publicity and criticism, never mind further study and maturity may have caused them to revise various things that would be contentious if judged only on that one book.
The trouble is as Edward Fitzgerald puts it in his paraphrase of Omar Khayamm
"The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it”
In other words what was written remains written and that goes on to influence other peoples readings too.
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