The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity

By Steve Silberman

Read by William Hughes

Review by Arnold Solof, MD  – Pediatrician

      I just finished listening to this audiobook.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the title accurately condenses the content of the book.  The audiobook is 18 hours long, and this reflects the depth to which the author’s study and analysis have gone to research the subject. 

     Steve Silberman is a journalist.  Given he is a journalist, I am very impressed with how accurately he has described the medical topics related to autism.  I did not find even one instance where he fumbled there.  On the other hand, I think not being a medical professional helped free his analysis from being encumbered by the limitations medical models, which to this date, fail to understand and explain the autism condition and its causality.

     This book reviews the history of autism from its first descriptions through to modern-day thinking and the competing theories that have occurred along the way.  It analyzes it from the psychiatric, parental, and the affected person’s points of views.

     The book concludes by considering autism more as “neurodiversity” rather than a disease and recommends a more inclusive approach of society to individuals with autism; benefiting from the associated strengths and abilities of autistic people and accommodating their special needs.

     After reading (or listening) to this book, you will not be an expert on autism, but you will come away with a much deeper understanding of the evolutionary history of this diagnosis, why we are seeing so many more individuals with autism nowadays and where we are (or should be) heading with this subject in the future.

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This is Omarosa Manigault Newman’s autobiographical account of her time with Trump and his organizations from her time on his show “The Apprentice” through her time as a high-level aide to President Trump.

As I never watched “The Apprentice” (reality TV is not “my thing”) and although I had heard her name mentioned frequently in the news during the Trump campaign and presidency, I really didn’t know anything about her.

After she was fired from her position in the white house and Trump changed his high praise of her to severe criticism and started calling her pejorative names my antennas went up.  This is one of Trump’s tactics to conceal the truth.  What truths were so important that Trump felt is so necessary to go out of his way to cover them up?  I had to get the book and find out.

One criticism of Omarosa was stating that she was just lying to get back at Trump for firing her.  If she really believed the things she stated in the book then why did she work for him all those years and support him and the things he did until she got fired?  I thought;  “good point”.

I watched her during a couple of interviews preceding the release of her book.  She seemed sincere and articulate.  Yet, I still could not reconcile how someone could be so blind to what was so obvious to myself and many others.

Omaraso narrates the book.  She is an excellent narrator. Her speech is clear, articulate, and she is very skillful in imitating the voices of Trump and others when quoting them.   I get the impression that her story is a factual representation of events, clearly from her point of view, but I never got the impression the facts were distorted or exaggerated for a personal agenda. (I get that impression with Trump almost every time I hear him speak, but with Trump, the word “facts” has no meaning).

One of the questions I frequently ask myself is “How can so many otherwise seemingly intelligent people believe the constant lies and bullshit, ignore the blatant racism, xenophobia, and misogyny of Trump?  How can intelligent people vote for a person who is uninformed, unprepared, and rejects the council of experts?  How can a black woman in the middle of all this be unaware of it?

This book gives a look at an explanation of how it happened for at least one person.  A word used in explaining it was “cult”.  I still have a hard time understanding it when I see it, but this is a real phenomenon.  A weakness of human behavior.  This book provides a window through which to glimpse how one person became a Trump “Believer/Follower”, and how long and difficult it was to escape the “spell”.

I give the book 5/5 stars.

The book on Audible

Arnold Solof

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• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: William Collins (April 24, 2018)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0007575637
• ISBN-13: 978-0007575633

This book describes the dismantling of the Department of State and the transfer of its power to the White House (and now Donald Trump) and the military.  This did not start with Donald Trump, but the process was dramatically accelerated by him.  It shows how people with decades of experience in diplomacy are being replaced with relative amateurs.  Mr. Farrow points out how the wave of nationalism sweeping our country has left a void in world leadership which is being willingly filled by China, which is in the process of replacing the USA as the world leader in diplomatic influence.

I recently spent a month in Costa Rica during which time I learned that the major soccer stadium of San Jose, Costa Rica “El Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica” was a gift from China (Cost of construction = $110 Million).

At that time I wondered, “Why would China do that?”.  Now I know.

I remember asking myself, why did the USA spend so much money on foreign aid to so many other countries.  We did it because by being friendly and engaged with the world not only promoted goodwill but also facilitated our ability to affect our agenda.

In a time of America retreating from the world stage, multiply what happened in Costa Rica by the number of countries in the world and you can see how China will be able to rapidly replace us in that role.

So step aside USA, make room for China.

The Iran nuclear deal is discussed and it is pointed out how although far from perfect, in a complex world, that is the way deals/compromises look. The alternative, armed conflict/war is so costly in terms of money, lives, suffering, that one must endeavor to prevent it whenever possible.

About Ronan Farrow

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