Customer Reviews:
 Flavor of the month? More and better education is needed. November 5, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
As the mother of a 19-year old daughter with AS (first diagnosed by a neurologist at the age of 5), I read this book with mixed emotions. AS is becoming better recognized as a disorder distinct from "traditional" autism, but the mental suffering of those who are truly high-functioning, including my daughter, at the hands of the ignorant, children and adults alike, is still pervasive.
I am particularly concerned about Robison's self-description as a savant. That and genius in a "normal" person are somewhat different things. This, and the fact that he cannot comprehend the very complex logic that drives humor, are, I think, rather telling. Most autistic savants have one or two special abilities that may manifest themselves in multiple ways. But these abilities tend to be concrete and non-symbolic rather than more usual left hemisphere skills that are more logical and symbolic. Those with AS tend to use both hemispheres more-or-less equally, while "normal" people are largely left-brained.
This author may well have AS (as opposed to "true" high-functioning autism), but I am not convinced. This does not make his memoir any less important, but in my opinion, his disorder as he himself describes it does not seem to be a typical model of AS, nor would I see him as particularly high-functioning. His self-description lacks insight, and therefore makes it misleading. In particular, his misunderstanding of savant skills and misreading of such things as body language and social communication are more autistic than AS. Persons with AS may have such difficulties, but they are also more likely to simply exhibit literalism and anxiety with regard to change than Robison seems to do, and to be more aware of their disabilities from an early age.
Those readers who may see AS in themselves or others based on mere observation after reading this book would be well advised to delve further into the subject before participating in the creation of the next "flavor of the month".
 Enlightening book! November 1, 2008
This book is a must read for anyone who is living with or knows someone with Asbergers. The descriptions of his feelings and life experiences gives great insight into how Aspergian minds work. It makes it much easier to understand the Aspergian and why they do and say the things they do. At the same time, it's entertaining. This book gives you a little bit of everything, comedy, drama, information, etc. I highly recommend it.
Excellent book for parents of Asperger's children! November 1, 2008
This book was very enlightening to me, especially as a parent of a recently diagnosed Asperger's child. To read of John Elder's childhood experiences from his point of view gave me such a different perspective. I gave copies of the book to my child's teachers since they are all new at working with forms of autism and it's been helpful. A friend of mine read the book and now believes he has Asperger's (he read the electronics section about the KISS projects and totally understood what the author had written!). I really enjoyed the book -- relatively easy reading but so eye-opening.
"Woof" I loved it. October 28, 2008
A young boy learns by trial and error to be a productive part of society. He overcomes many challenges (physical abuse from his drunk father, a mentally unstable Mother, difficulty with peers, later on in life he learns he has asperger's) and succeeds.
My favorite parts of the book were his "functional naming", pranks he plays on family members, teachers, co workers, and how he protects himself from snakes. I laughed out loud. I loved it. I hope to read more books by this author. His brother Augusten Burroughs is also an exellent story teller.
Loved it!!! October 23, 2008
This was such an amazing book. It really helped me understand Asperger's, and yet John made his experiences hysterical. He is a great writer and I would reccomend the book to anyone.
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