A renowned expert in his field of anthropology, Grinker mixes the personal and professional in this book by delving into the world of autism. He does this in an anthropological manner finding the foundations of the disease called autism and how the criteria of autism has developed over time to encompass the now large group of people it does.
Grinker has a personal association with the world of autism. His daughter, Isabel was diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum at a young age and he has watched her grow as he watched the world grow more and more accustomed to the diagnosis that had been such a mystery to him at first.
The book deals with three areas: Grinker's personal experience with his daughter's diagnosis and the various methods recommended to the family, whether there is really an autism 'epidemic' and how different cultures deal with autism. The author was also able to relate his own experiences with the medical profession to the different methods of psychiatric and psychological practice (including Freudian psychoanalytic theory). There was also a significant exploration into the understanding of autism in different countries; especially interesting in many of the countries where spiritual healing is seen as dominant over medical options. Many of the pioneers of autistic research and political movements are documented in this book.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in autism and in the so-called epidemic.
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