The Autistic Brain: Helping Different Kinds of Minds Succeed ― Autism Advocate Temple Grandin’s Goodreads Choice Award-Winning Neuroscience Guide

This is a meaty book which provides and informed update of the current state of the art in autism research. It is a popular science book about brain research written by the research subject herself and gives a brisk and informative review of the state of the art in brain scanning with illustrations of the findings in the author's brain. It reviews the latest findings in the genetics of autism and reports on the identification of genes associated with autism. The author delves at length on the issue of sensory problems experienced by autistics and decries the limited interest of researchers in this stressful issue for many autistics. She reviews the different diagnostic testing techniques and the labels they cause to be attached to people and appeals to people on the spectrum, and their loved ones, to resist being defined by a label. She talks about the employment possibilities for autistics and gives examples where their peculiar idiosyncrasies turn out to be a competitive advantage. All packed into a narrative infused with Dr. Grandin's life experience as a high functioning autistic. As the grandfather of an autistic boy and as a friend of the autistic Iris Johansson, who I think of as the Temple Grandin of Sweden, I was intensely interested in the contents of this informative book. As the translator of Johansson's book "A different childhood" A Different Childhood I was particularly interested in Dr. Grandin's discussion of the sensory problems experienced by many autistics, the visual and auditory processing issues in particular. In this context I was disappointed to not find any comments about synesthesia which I believe is often associated with autism. On this subject, the book by Johansson is a particularly rich source of material, describing her synesthesia (perceiving her mother's anger or grandmother's scolding as beautiful light-shows that made her happy), her out of body-like experiences (seeing her body sitting on the ground as she herself was swooping around in the sky with her spirit friends), her tactile problems (wearing her flannel shirt inside out and backwards to minimize the unbearable irritation of rough fabric). As Dr. Grandin emphasizes, there are many variations in the autistic experience, but also many characteristic similarities. One way to possibly think about it is that what's common is the areas in which autistics differ from neurotypicals, but the way they are different varies greatly. For instance, Dr Grandin refers several times to her poor short term memory, while for other autistics super memory is their most notable characteristic. Overall this book is well worth your time, even if you are not associated with anyone on the spectrum. If you are, then it is a book that belongs in your library.

I've been avoiding Temple Grandin's books for years, all because of the title of her book, Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism . With that book, I thought, "All autistic people can't think in pictures. Autistic people have to be like regular people, and be divided into visual, auditory, and kinesthetic people." Plus, I thought, "Even though I'm extremely visual, I couldn't hold a picture in my brain if my life depended on it. I'm not like those artists who can see pictures of what they draw before they draw it." But, I bought the book anyway, because so many people seem to have liked Temple's books. And then, in the introduction, page 3, Temple had written this: "When I wrote Thinking in Pictures in 1995, I mistakenly thought that everybody on the autism spectrum was a photorealistic visual thinker like me. When I started interviewing other people about how they recalled information, I realized I was wrong." Wow. Temple became my hero for life, and she did it by page 3. Not only did she completely address my every issue that I ever had with her writing, but she explained it in a way that I totally understood where she was coming from when she guessed that all autistic people think in pictures over a decade ago. And, later in the book, she gives an explanation for someone who thinks visually like me, but who can't hold a picture in their head. It's "pattern thinker," and I really like that term, because it really describes me. And it takes a lot of courage to say, "I was wrong." Most people can't even utter those three words, so it gave me a lot of respect for Temple Grandin. I still think that eventually Temple will find some autistic kinesthetic thinkers, too, but that's not in this book. And, this book is awesome. Temple is obsessed about finding out what about her brain and her personality differs from other people. She has offered herself up to many brain scans, and she's read thousands of technical articles about autism as research. Because of this unique combination, this book provides a unique take on autism that you won't find anywhere else, and it also explains boring, overly critical university research on autism in a friendly and uplifting way. I liked how this book recommends that we match autistic kids' abilities with activities. A lot of autistic kids are really underutilized in their strengths. Here's one way the book expresses it: "I've seen these cases--kids who are considered to have severe behavior problems at school until you give them math lessons that meet them where their brains are. Then their behavior normalizes, and they become productive and engaged--maybe even model students." It gives a lot of techniques that I've never heard of too. One was blinking fast, so that you get a bunch of pictures in your head, instead of a steady stream of information. That can help with sensitivities. Another was wearing different shades of glasses, using different colored lights, or setting the background on your computer screen to different colors, until you find the colors or the shades that best complement your brain. This is the first book that I've read from Temple, but it definitely won't be my last. I loved this book, and heartily recommend it to everyone. Pros: +A great first read on autism, or even a great twentieth book +Takes antiseptic, critical research on autism and presents it in a non-depressing way +A great narrative about Temple GRandin's life +Has good information on what you can try to help with autism sensitivies Cons: -Like all books currently on autism, this is probably incomplete

For a parent whose child has recently been diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder, I highly recommend starting with this book. Reading this book has made me accept and understand my 3-year-old son's diagnosis and it gave me a peek at what could possibly be going on in his brain. All the worries that came flooding as I got that first diagnosis (PDD-NOS) has left me clutching on to this book. By the time I got a second opinion and confirmation of a diagnosis (ASD) after DSM-5 was released, I was already fully informed because of this book. By then, I was able to take the doctor's advice with grace and acceptance instead of shock and denial. This book has made me and my family focus on "what can we do now to make it the best possible scenario for my child." This was written in Temple Grandin's voice, and in the last part of the book, she has given Richard Panek great credit, saying that they have worked well together on this book. Richard Panek made this this book structured well, flowing correctly, and delivered clearly. The beginning chapters made me think that this was a scientific paper as she laid out the history of Autism, possible causes, and even explaining the procedures done as she was "lighting up the brain" under an fMRI. However, Temple's voice and character softens the "scientific paper" as she relates all these research to her own experiences. I also love that she mentions "Mother" a few times, as it gives a glimpse of what her own mother has done that benefitted Temple while she was growing up. It is clear that Temple has gone through a lot of growing pains, but it is also clear that her mother was firm and strong behind all of this. I am very grateful for the facts and helpful insight contained in this book. Thank you, Temple & Richard, for helping me move forward with this diagnosis and giving us ideas on better ways to handle Autism.

Loved the book (as I do all of Temple's work). As a mother with two boys on the spectrum, I always appreciate the insight I get from Temple and other writers with ASD who can explain how they think and what it feels like to be in their bodies. Things I really liked about this book: the wealth of research that she pulls together for her readers(especially the neuroimaging studies)and the positive approach she takes towards raising and educating these special thinkers (ie. focusing on their strengths instead of constantly focusing on their deficits). I also like the fact that Temple really emphasizes the importance of the sensory differences in people with ASD as opposed to neurotypicals - I've come to the conclusion after watching my own boys that this may be the most debilitating issue for many who appear "low functioning". I'm not sure that I completely agree that there are only three main types of thinkers who have ASD - object visualizers, spacial or pattern visualizers and verbal thinkers. Again, watching my two boys (one 19 and one 7), I don't see any clear indication that either fits neatly into one of those categories. While I suspect my 19 year old is most likely a visual thinker, I can't classify my seven year old. Aside from sensory issues, his biggest deficit appears to be severe apraxia (difficulty with motor planning). He's non-verbal (not surprising because of the apraxia) and he struggles with both fine and gross motor skills. Apraxia seems to be a BIG issue with many on the spectrum (Ido in Autismland by Ido Kedar is a terrific book by a young man with ASD who is apraxic and just had trouble "telling" his body what to do). Temple addresses ALOT of great issues in her book - but this is never touched upon and I found it a pretty big omission. When some people with ASD who are assumed to be low functioning (because they are non-verbal and have alot of stereotypies) learn how to type or otherwise communicate, we learn that they are, in fact, not mentally handicapped and have always been "there"; they just couldn't control their bodies in a way that allowed the rest of us to know it. That's my seven year old. I'd love to know what the neuroimaging studies could tell us about that! While I think that most on the spectrum suffer from some degree of apraxia, there appears to be another subset of people who suffer from it SEVERELY. How many ASD suffers are warehoused someplace with the label of "low functioning" when all along they've been aware of everything going on around them but can't control their bodies at all? I think it's great that we focus on high functioning people and make sure that they have an opportunity to live up to their absolute greatest potential. But . . . I think we are doing a disservice to those we are considering "low functioning" by not studying them in greater detail and doing more research focused on sensory and motor problems.

This book discusses some fascinating developments in understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder from a neurological / biological standpoint (while at the same time stressing that there’s a lot more research needed). Some parts early in are bogged down with statistics and hard to take in, but I loved that Grandin explored the science of autism / autistic traits, which I think is key to understanding and accepting behavior from a biological standpoint instead of seeing it a someone’s “fault.” Using her own experience and scientific research, Grandin also offers lots of practical insights on how different people think, as well as how people with autism can not only be accommodated (autism as a disorder / disability with certain deficits) but also be appreciated (autism as the capability for unique and useful thinking approaches). A good read for people who wish to start understanding autism.

If you know someone with Autism spectrum disorder or if, like me, you are just curious to learn and understand this complex affliction, this book is for you. Temple Grandin eloquently and honestly conveys what it feels like to experience the world as an autistic person while simultaneously exploring the scientific side of Autism and interpreting the results of decades of research as only she can. Her vivid examples and comparisons make understanding the day to day challenges of life with ASD much easier. We all fit into one or more of the types of thinking and learning described in this book, not just those with ASD. Understanding and learning to tap into the strengths of each can be invaluable when assembling collaborative teams. It can also help us all to be more open to embracing differences instead of ridiculing or dismissing them. By including references and links to other books and scholarly articles on the subject of Autism (some written by other autistic individuals), Temple Grandin provides a clear path to further understanding this often misunderstood neurological disorder. Excellent read that I will visit again and again.

This book combines insightful personal experience with well-researched scientific data to provide the reader with the most comprehensive, engaging and informative look at living with autism I have seen.

I was blown away by this book because of how it straddles a line between easily understandable abstractions and detailed scientific explanations. Today is now 2021 and I'd love to see an update that goes into newer research in the decade since this was published. I did additional digging into a few things I was curious about, like the fascinating relationship between IQ and people on the spectrum (overall vs. those with Asperger's), but I wouldn't like to have to do that for all of the topics discussed here. (I discovered that while IQ is inherited, autism doesn't seem to be. So the whole area of those like me diagnosed with Asperger's is quite confounding for researchers, which partly explains why Asperger's has been so hard to diagnose. And I apologize, but I find the term "Asperger's" much easier to comprehend than "L1ASD" or whatever the more formal name might be this year.) One thing that's clear from reading this book is that anybody seriously interested in this field is going to need to have a fairly wide swath of knowledge about several discrete areas of study and research as well as the history behind them, including: cognitive psych, neuro psych, behavioral psych, genetics and genomics, and probably some background in PT, OT, and ST as well. After reading this book, I'm left with one dominant conclusion: for everything question researchers in this broad field answer from their work, five more questions turn up. I also cannot figure out how so much material got crammed into so few pages. Temple is an amazing writer and communicator, in spite of the fact that she thinks in pictures and this is NOT a "picture book" but mostly an abundance of words.

è o testemunho de uma pessoa lúcida, competente e que lutou c/ o problema de dentro dele. Perfeito. Muito Bom

A clear and superbly interesting book. Takes scientific research and makes it not only accessible but applicable. Temple Grandin has an extraordinary gift of demolishing received ideas with common sense and illustrations from peer reviewed research. For anyone in contact with autism, self, family or in the workplace, this should be on the list of required reading.

An inspirational book for parents with an autistic child. I recommend this to everyone that wants to know more about autism and to understand the autistic brain.

This is a great read from front to back. This is the book for you if you're at all interested in the subject of autism. My favourite thing about this book is that it is firmly planted in the latest science: all of Grandin's claims and examples are well-documented with the sources listed in the back. (After you finish the book, you can spend time going through some of the sources too!) It contains very balanced and logical content and does an amazing job of revealing the course of future of study in this field. Clearly, Grandin and her co-writer Richard Panek have done their research and put a lot of effort into organizing it into something incredibly comprehensive for the average reader. Instead of focusing on the specific bounds of diagnostic labels, Grandin looks to a future where autistic children and adults are instead assessed, helped, and encouraged based on their specific strengths and weaknesses. She foresees a future where autism, as well as other neurological conditions, is diagnosed biologically through brain imaging technology which will provide better understanding of individual brains. The book contains interesting anecdotes, personal examples, and even visual representations of some of the subject matter. Best of all, it provides information about different types of thinking that applies to all humans - not just to autistics. If you hadn't already considered that even "neurotypical" people experience and process the world in vastly different ways, this book will illustrate how. I would recommend "The Autistic Brain" to everyone I know. Without being overly sensational, it presents autism in a more positive light by describing how the autistic brain works and the wide range of specialized skills a person with autism may have. It would be a great introduction for parents or teachers thinking about the educational and occupational future of both their autistic and non-autistic children. This was by far the best book I've read in the past year.

Me encanta Temple Grandin. Sus libros explican el autismo desde un enfoque lógico y practico.Uno de los imprescindibles si te interesa el autismo.