Understanding Autism

Parents, Doctors, and the History of a Disorder

By: Chloe Silverman

Narrated by: Margie Lenhart

Autism has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years, thanks to dramatically increasing rates of diagnosis, extensive organizational mobilization, journalistic coverage, biomedical research, and clinical innovation. Understanding Autism, a social history of the expanding diagnostic category of this contested illness, takes a close look at the role of emotion - specifically, of parental love - in the intense and passionate work of biomedical communities investigating autism.

Chloe Silverman tracks developments in autism theory and practice over the past half-century and shows how an understanding of autism has been constituted and stabilized through vital efforts of schools, gene banks, professional associations, government committees, parent networks, and treatment conferences. She examines the love and labor of parents, who play a role in developing - in conjunction with medical experts - new forms of treatment and therapy for their children. While biomedical knowledge is dispersed through an emotionally neutral, technical language that separates experts from laypeople, parental advocacy and activism call these distinctions into question. Silverman reveals how parental care has been a constant driver in the volatile field of autism research and treatment, and has served as an inspiration for scientific change.

Recognizing the importance of parental knowledge and observations in treating autism, this book reveals that effective responses to the disorder demonstrate the mutual interdependence of love and science.

©2012 Princeton University Press (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Misunderstanding?

If you seek to understand autism, do not spend time listening to this. I misunderstood the title to mean that the book would attempt (at least) to explain autism. I guess it was about the history of how people (mostly doctors and parents) have sought to 'understand autism'.
The history chapters are okay.
The modern controversy chapters are quite bizarrely approached. She subscribes to the common media tactic of giving equal time to 'both sides' of the issue(s) discussed. As is they carry equal weight and support. It is slightly refreshing to find a moderate voice, but the bizarreness is in the use of the "parents' love" lens to see the arguments. She disregards the reality of real world conflict and politics and seems to think that everything can just be neat and tidy if we wrap it up in a lovely bow. A bow of a parent's love for their child. So odd.

Horrible!!!

The worst book I’ve ever read/listened to!!! I have a child with autism. I couldn’t follow along, it was boring, redundant...etc... this was just a horribly written book!!!!!

Great presentation. Everyone with an autistic should be listening/reading this.

Easy to understand the information. Love that all the theories were explained. This is one book you'll read over and over.