Interesting look Inside Autism

I got this book on a whim, a friend of mine had mentioned it during a long discussion about how being sociopaths probably succeed more in business. I don't know how we got to discussing that..

Anyway. Back to this book.

Temple Grandin clearly and eloquently describes what it is like to be autistic, and how her mind works. She is able to describe it well enough that I feel like I can fairly well wrap my head around autism, and what it must be like.

I always wondered if I was a little aspergerish, but after I read this book, I realized that I'm not. I'm just anti-social and introverted. Not all the time though, don't worry. I can still party like a rockstar.

The latter half of this book gets pretty technical, and starts to talk about autism, various treatments, education, upbringing, etc. It seems a bit like an owner's manual for autism, which isn't as interesting to me, which is why I knocked it down a star.

The first part of this book, however, is fantastic, and if you are at all interested in finding out what it is like to experience the world with autism, check out this book.

30 people found this helpful

Great book & well read

An interesting book that was written by an autistic person who miraculously earned a doctorate and now sports a long list of accomplishments in the cattle industry and is quite famous. The book talks in detail about what it’s like to be autistic as told by a person who considers herself bridging both worlds. ..strangely it is also about cows. There is a lot of credible information about both to be sure! I give it a four out of five simply because the last part of the book reveals some strange perceptions about God and religion but she wraps it up nicely after that.

13 people found this helpful

Scientific, informative, and enlightening!

Temple Grandin is one of the most influential people in the world, elected by Times magazine in 2010. If you want to get information about autism, this is the first book you should read. It is a wonderful book. Another thing you should know is that you will not absorb everything in one listening / sitting. You will have to listen to it at least three times. It contains a lot of useful and clarifying information. I highly recommend it!

8 people found this helpful

Gives a glimpse into an autistic person's thinking

If you could sum up Thinking in Pictures in three words, what would they be?

Insight
Autism
Perspective

What other book might you compare Thinking in Pictures to and why?

The closest comparison I have is the fiction work, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, because it, too, gives the reader insight into how the mind of a person on the autism spectrum thinks.

Have you listened to any of Deborah Marlowe’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not, so cannot make a comparison.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

A Different Perspective on the World

Any additional comments?

This book gives the reader an interesting perspective into how the mind of one high-functioning person on the autism spectrum works. The concept of "thinking in pictures" was new to me, but it helped me understand this way of thinking. The author includes research information that has been updated since the first edition of the book, which helps keep it current with progress in the field. This book is helpful for teachers, parents, and others who wish to better understand the unique ways that persons with autism think.

6 people found this helpful

A must read!

This is a great book, as is Grandin's "How Animals Make Us Human". I highly recommend them both for the pleasure of reading, and the knowledge of yourself and the world outside of yourself that you can gain.

Reading this book gave me insight into how my mind works, although I do not have autism. Grandin's braveness in facing and mastering an understanding of the brain that makes her unique gave me a higher appreciation for the differences in each of us. I can see how my own way of thinking both helps and limits me, and I can see ways I can try to improve and strengthen my brain's abilities.

6 people found this helpful

What you SHOULD know about autism

When I started this audiobook, I didn't have very much knowledge about autism. This book gave me a clear idea of what it's like to have autism and debunks common misconceptions about it. She also relates her experience to that of people without autism. If you're trying to gain a greater understanding of this topic, I highly recommend this audiobook.

11 people found this helpful

Teachers MUST read!!!

Good luck putting the book down once you start! As a special education teaching who works with students with autism, this really brings light to a different perspective! IT WAS A WONERFUL READ!

4 people found this helpful

A story that speaks to the uniqueness in us all

What did you love best about Thinking in Pictures?

Temple is able to put into words descriptions of thought process and being that anyone can use. Learn to become more aware of all the people in our lives and how each of us has some bit of her uniqueness.Through her words, she teaches us to take the time to understand people in a new way.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Thinking in Pictures?

Her openness

Have you listened to any of Deborah Marlowe’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes I believe so. Her pacing of the text and story seemed very appropriate for the author's words.

4 people found this helpful

I'm in two minds about this book

I'm in two minds about this book.

The book is a mix of the author's own experiences and trying to explain more generally about autism.

I enjoyed hearing her own experiences. She brings a unique point of view to the table, and hearing about how she approaches and thinks about her work is interesting.

However, the information on autism suffers from the age of the book - originally written 26 years ago, and revised 15 years ago.

While she does say that autism differs in different individuals, there are plenty of sections where (what I feel is) over-generalizations are made, as if they apply to all autistic individuals.

It (briefly) talks about how vaccines may be a cause of autism, an idea that has caused much harm to autistic individuals over the years, and has been utterly debunked for quite a while.

The benefits of ABA are also talked about, a type of "therapy" based around training autistics to suppress their natural behavior to fit in better, rather than finding out the reasons for the behavior to help find reasonable accommodations for their needs. It is not hard to find extensive discussions of people being traumatized by this if you go looking. https://reddit.com/r/autism/comments/pe8ohn/opinion_on_aba_therapy/ is a good starting point if you want to learn more.

While the book does contain some good information, it is littered with much information I would put caveats on with our current understanding of autism. I'm sure it was quite informative at the time it was written - our understanding has just shifted since then.

3 people found this helpful

Needs to Update and Revise

I struggled to finish because she seemed to keep saying the same thing over and over with different examples calling each one a new chapter. This book definitely needs to be updated to stay relevant because 8 years have passed since the last revision. With a good update on new research, it would bring useful insights to someone wanting to hear about Autism from a very eloquent person who has the disorder.

3 people found this helpful