Rethinking autism through the prism of neurodiversity
Not everything that steps out of line, and thus 'abnormal', must necessarily be 'inferior.'- Dr. Hans Asperger (1938)
As a longtime journalist with Wired magazine, Steve Silberman was used to spotting trends in California's Silicon Valley... but perhaps none as important as this one:
Twelve years ago he kept noticing that there were clusters of children with autism in Silicon Valley communities where software engineers and I.T. employees lived and that began a decade-long quest to understand the nature and origin of autism.
"Great minds don't always think alike."- Steve Silberman on neurodiversity and approaching autism differently
Now he's published a book of his findings. It's titled "NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity." In it, Steve Silberman argues that autism should be viewed not as an epidemic, but as a different way of thinking. He joined Anna Maria from San Francisco.
This segment was produced by The Current's Erin Pettit.
RELATED LINKS
♦ Steve Silberman on autism and 'neurodiversity'
♦ NeuroTribes by Steve Silberman – an enlightened take on autism
Webchat with Margaret Spoelstra from Autism Ontario
After talking to Steve Silberman on looking at new ways to approach autism, we thought this would make for a great live discussion. We hosted a live webchat with Margaret Spoelstra, the Executive Director of Autism Ontario to look at approaching autism different. She's a special education teacher by training, and has spent the past 35 years working with individuals with a variety of special needs, especially autism.