Welcome to Litsy!

My son is autistic so I nervous going into this but I loved it.
Yes, it‘s heartbreaking and difficult at times (the history of how autistic children were treated is brutal) but it is full of history, science and hope. It is well written, well researched and it genuinely changed my perspective on autism in the best possible way. Important and thought provoking, everyone needs to read this book.

RIP. This man & this book changed our lives. ❤️💔

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/05/science/steve-silberman-dead.html?unlocked_ar...

I‘ve had this chunkster sitting my shelves for a while. I‘m so happy I finally decided to take the time to read it. It was a well researched book about the history of Autism from before the days of Asperger & Kanner that identified Autism (although their initial guidelines have changed significantly). The book also has discussed the change of how Autism has been perceived by professionals, parents & now self advocates. Autism was first identified

I‘m just starting this one. It‘s going to be an interesting read, I can already tell.

Basically a history of the concept of autism and psychologists'/psychiatrists'/physicians' perceptions and how they fitted in with general ideas on mental illness as they developed from autism being a very rare childhood disease to a broad spectrum of human variation.

Fascinating. I didn't know about the mass sterilisations of mentally ill people in the US. A stark account of the Nazis' treatment of those they considered “mentally defective“.

Every evening in the last years of the eighteenth century, at precisely the same hour, a solitary figure stepped forth from the most unusual house on Clapham Common to take his nightly constitutional.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

#lunchandabook

This was a great deep dive into the history of autism and showing how it is not a disease.

This is an important subject. I learned a lot about the history of autism, but, I really didn't gel with Silberman's biographical style. It felt disorganised and waffly, never quite bringing the subject to life.

At it's heart though, this is a book advocating for acceptance of difference and urging us to be more thoughtful and accommodating of others. A message I wholeheartedly approve.

⭐⭐⭐ 3 stars

I've got a new book model 💕💕 He was a gift from a patient and I love him ❤

Neurotribes is a history of autism, full of valuable information presented in a biographical style that I am not clicking with.

I was not emotionally ready for the chapters about the holocaust and the maltreatment of children.

I hope that our society is evolving in a way to make us all more accepting of difference, more inclusive and more accommodating of others.

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

1) Tagged. Not loving it so far. I was hoping for a concise history of autism encompassing the concept of neurodiversity. I'm finding the writing very rambling and unfocused. Hopefully it will get better.

2) I would say cold, but having had convos with Littens about what constitutes "cold", I daren't when it's only 2°c ?

3) Feet by the radiator, blanket, cup of tea ?

Didn‘t quite make it to 20 for #20in4 but I am glad that I finished my April #DoubleSpin book 🎉 I‘ve followed Steve in online spaces for years but was always too intimidated to start this chunkster, but I really shouldn‘t have been. This book is a thorough history of autism but it is extremely readable albeit harrowing at times especially re: early history (eugenics, child death). If this has been on your TBR I really recommend starting. 💯

Spent yesterday listening to NeuroTribes for #20in4

My only goal for this #20in4 readathon is to finish the tagged 500+ page chonk which is also my #DoubleSpin book for April

3 🌟 leftover book from March's #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

Have circled the speed as I normally stick to 1x! Should probably have bailed on this 20 hour audiobook.

Here‘s my #BookSpinBingo card. I love that Neurotribes got picked this month because it‘s Autism *Acceptance* month and I have read portions of this book but haven‘t yet finished it. ♾ 🌈

#BookSpin: Speak
#DoubleSpin: Neurotribes

#bookreport week 20/3/21 @Cinfhen

Finished top 2, continued tagged & started bottom 2.

#bookreport week 13/3/21 @Cinfhen

Finished top 2, continued bottom 2.

After an eye-opening conversation with my psychiatric NP last week, I decided to pick up this book again. It was difficult to read at many points, but it made me feel seen.

Highly recommend.

#weeklyforecast @Cinfhen

Current audiobook.

#autism #neurodiversity

I'm only vaguely familiar with the history of autism through my undergrad/grad school work, so this was an interesting read. Silberman covers the overall history in depth up to the present in an approachable manner. if I have any minor issues, the book does downplay some of the more severe behavioral challenges of autism in children and also focuses a bit too much on high-functioning for the sake of meaningfully contributing to society.

Excellent romp through the diagnostic history of ASD. I highly recommend to anyone interested in such a history

Lovely Saturday morning :)

This book is excellent. It could have been trimmed down a bit, but that‘s true of most books IMO. 5⭐️
#nonfiction

#audiowalking
#autism

Job related reading, so I‘m totally working right now, right? 😄

There are many good aspects of our culture being more accepting of "neurodiversity", but as the mom of special needs kids, one with autism, I'm going to have a very unpopular opinion here. Books like this piss me off. I guess more specifically they make me sad, and feel like I'm not seen. My kid's autism isn't good, or cute, or fun. Talking about Daryl Hannah or Jerry Seinfeld being autistic...really? (Continued in comments...)

This book was so excellent, but quite long, and sadly my library insisted I return it before I got to finish it, haha. That said, it was AMAZING to read the backstory of why we have the ideas about autism that we do: all the stigmas, the stereotypes, and even a possible explanation for why there are so many parents who believe they themselves can do something to help their child‘s “condition.” I hope I get a chance to finish it someday!

THIS

Trying a new book tonight.

I would always rather be reading than at a party.

1. Yes!
2. 60/40 - more fiction
3. Science
4. Neurotribes by Steve Silberman
5. I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yong

@wanderinglynn

We need to do better at interrogating media that misrepresents autistic folks, stop hero-worshipping the “autism mom,” and demand that publishers and film/TV production companies prioritize works by autistic writers if they want to cash in on autistic main characters. Tagged an “autistic-approved” work I‘ve been reading for a while. Quote in the pic is from https://aeon.co/essays/the-autistic-view-of-the-world-is-not-the-neurotypical-cl...

I‘m so glad I read this book! It made me think I should read more by autistic people about their lives and experiences which I will make sure I bear in mind next time I can afford to buy books. Harrowing sometimes, hilarious sometimes, really made me laugh at myself as a non-autistic person sometimes which I loved so much. Really recommend!

I‘m so happy I‘ve finally got round to this book! I like to think of myself as a progressive, inclusive person but I‘ve been realising recently how my reading history does NOT reflect that and I need to work harder. Can‘t believe this is my first ever book about autism! It‘s so interesting so far, well researched but comprehensible for a non scientist. Really recommend so far particularly if you‘ve never read about autism like me!

I found this to be well-written and impressively researched. The historical data was intense and extensive, and overall the book is heavier on the “legacy of autism” part of the subtitle and lighter on the “future of neurodiversity.” As a mom of an autistic son and having my own point of view re: what matters, I wanted more about neurodiversity, but that‘s just my preference, not an indictment of the book at all, which was well worth the listen.

Eh. Very detailed history (with extensive notes) on the history of autism. Concentrating on those who studied the condition and two long chapters on the DSM and, yes, rain man. Picked this up after it was repeatedly mentioned on Laura James‘ great memoir, Odd Girl Out. This was way too academic and had too few case studies for my taste.

What an amazing look into the history of autism! Highly recommended.

TW for abuse of/ unethical medical experimentation on children. Nazis were awful, we know this. But their treatment of disabled children was beyond evil on a level I couldn't have imagined.

Started a new audiobook on my way home! Has anyone read this one? It's interesting so far.

“The beginning of autonomy is being able to communicate ‘yes‘ and ‘no.‘”
So simple, and yet... #autismawareness #autismacceptance #redinstead #audiobooks

Testing tagging when you know the person‘s whole username @raimeygallant okay, this is a workaround but until we address tagging wonkiness here‘s how I did it: type @ NAME then go back and delete the space, X out of the pop up at the top right, then tap after NAME, X out of the pop up again, hit space and type on. NOT elegant, but it works, and I‘ll pass this along; thanks, Raimey!

Yep, time to quit. 🤬🤬🤬 #redinstead #autismacceptance #autismawareness

This book is breaking my heart as it further educates me. Not that I didn‘t expect it. #autismacceptance #redinstead #autismawareness

This book strikes exactly the tone I was imagining when I decided I needed to go back to school so :I: could write a book. And with this bit that echoes my personal lending-library dreams, I‘m having all the feelings, don‘t mind me. #autismacceptance #redinstead #autismawareness

“By sharing the stories of their lives, they discovered that many of the challenges they face daily are not ‘symptoms‘ of their autism, but hardships imposed by a society that refuses to make basic accommodations for people with cognitive disabilities as it does for people with physical disabilities such as blindness and deafness.” #autismawareness #redinstead #autismacceptance #neuroqueer

Lunch listen: Audible daily deal, $5.95 today. It‘s a tome, ~500 oversized paperback pages, but I‘ve read a bit here and there since I bought it several months ago at the recommendation of an autistic person who said that reading this made them feel incredibly seen. I know some of it will be hard to read, but it‘s important to me personally not to avoid the hard stuff: autistic folks don‘t get to. #autismawareness #redinstead #audiobooks

#ReadingResolutions #AprilTBR

Neuroqueers, what are your recs for fiction by autistic folks, whether they center autism, discuss it tangentially, or not at all? How about non-fic about autism and neurodiversity? Tagging Neurotribes as a rec from an autistic person who said Silberman is the only NT they trust to speak for them. I really want to combat this "parent narrative as the voice of autism" bullshit that is so pervasive in books and television, especially of late.

#allthebooksof2017 #longestbookyouread

Weighing in at just under 500 pages, this was the chunkiest book I read this year. It was also one of my favourites, and I recommend it to any fellow #teachersoflitsy (whether you work in SPED or not!)