Uta FrithBesprekingen

Two Heads is is an attractive looking book about an interesting topic. The characters are appealing and the artwork simple and stylish. It is a nice coffee table sort of book, one to glance through and enjoy.

I really wanted to read what Uta and Chris Frith had to say about themselves and about their researches into how the brain works. After a few pages, though, I only wanted to look ahead for content and for interesting graphics.
It had become a slog to wade through panel after panel of talking heads discussing, in maybe three pages, what could have fit in a few paragraphs of text. The panels slowed me down and often had nothing to tell me that the text itself hadn't said.
So, I spent a few more minutes enjoying the drawings and searching for illustrations with information.

The graphics and the text are both great but for me did not work together. This can always be a problem for graphic-based books. Maybe that's why many are shorter than this book's 350 pages.

graphic nonfiction (science, history of neuroscience/psychology)

Fairly complex concepts painstakingly explained over many series of illustrations (most of which are just the same two people talking). Fine if you are really wanting to put in the time to learn, but for casual readers this won't be all that entertaining or enjoyable. I usually like graphic nonfiction, and I usually like books that deal with neuroscience and neurodivergence, and even though the content is fine, I found this extremely boring and after making it through 111 pages reading a few pages at a time (about as much as I could stand before my brain would beg to switch to ANY other book), I gave up on it. It could maybe work as a textbook, depending on what class you're taking, but even for an interested reader I wouldn't recommend.

Maybe if it was less banal history to slog through and more interesting new studies and potential implications?

Hanging out with young leftist academics as I do I've taken up the yellow sharpie, and suffice to say I want to pick up a can of yellow paint. Not everything pinged, but what did certainly did!

La primera edición de Autismo.Hacia una explicación del enigma, muy pronto se convirtió en un clásico porque proporcionaba el primer relato psicológico satisfactorio de lo que pasa en la mente de una persona con autismo. Esta nueva edición actualizada cuenta la historia del esfuerzo científico por comprender el autismo y muestra que las explicaciones que aportaba Uta Frith han resistido el paso del tiempo. Con sorprendentes ampliaciones y mejoras en cada uno de los capítulos, el libro ha sido revisado radicalmente y se ha añadido un nuevo capítulo con las investigaciones en neuropsicología más destacadas de los últimos diez años. Este libro de Uta Frith seguirá siendo un clásico de referencia obligatoria en todos los estudios sobre autismo

A highly interesting book that ranges from biography to philosophy in its search for questions. I doubt anyone could read this without disagreeing with something. I'm not sure her theories about the engines that drive the brain are correct. Neither am I convinced that autism is a dysfunction. But this is not a book of answers but of questions and it invites you to ask them. The most interesting part for me was the section on autistic types from history. It added a number of books to Mount Tabor.

The first edition of the text proposed that the key psychological features of autism were concerned with the theory of mind and central coherence. This updated edition reports on how this explanation has stood the test of time. The history and epidemiology of autism are also discussed. A new chapter outlines developments in neuropsychological research. (This review refers to updated 2003 edition)

In this volume, several of the major experts in the field discuss the diagnostic criteria of the syndrome, named after Hans Asperger, who first described the condition in the 1940's, and illustrate their views with case studies drawn from their clinical practice. These clinical studies are complemented by personal accounts and placed in a new theoretical framework. They also provide surprisingly practical suggestions on the education and management of children with autism and Asperger syndrome. This book gives the first coherent account of Asperger syndrome as a distinct variant of autism and will no doubt arouse a good deal of debate. (141 refs).

In this volume, several of the major experts in the field discuss the diagnostic criteria of the syndrome, named after Hans Asperger, who first described the condition in the 1940's, and illustrate their views with case studies drawn from their clinical practice. These clinical studies are complemented by personal accounts and placed in a new theoretical framework. They also provide surprisingly practical suggestions on the education and management of children with autism and Asperger syndrome. This book gives the first coherent account of Asperger syndrome as a distinct variant of autism and will no doubt arouse a good deal of debate. (141 refs).

Because autism manifests itself in so many different ways, it is hard to write a general introduction. And to do so in the limited space of "a very short introduction" is probably impossible. This book doesn't really try -- it doesn't attempt to cover all types, and it is in no way a treatment manual. There is no section on strategies, no advice to those on the spectrum, not even much in the way of diagnostic criteria. A person with high-function autism, trying to self-diagnose, would find little help in this book.

What the book does well is describe the various hypotheses about the causes and explanations of autism. In this regard it is helpful -- as long as one does not suffer an autism disorder one's self. Ah, but there is the key word -- the "self." After discussing the five "big ideas" that have been put forward to try to explain autism, Frith's conclusion seems to be that the self of the autistic person is damaged or even missing. Perhaps this is not a condemnation -- a robot is a useful thing even though it doesn't have a self. But what JUSTIFIES the existence of a human being who lacks a self? A person with autism may wish to do good -- but is it possible for this self-less (as opposed to selfless) person to do it? I do not know. Here, the lack of strategies is a devastating lack. To me at least, this book offers no sign of hope. The evidence is clear that there is no cure for autism. Must the victims, then, be comfortless as well?

This wonderful, informative book includes the complete translation of Hans Asperger's original 1944 paper, and I loved every word of it. My admiration for Dr. Asperger has grown by leaps. His concern and joy in working with the children comes through in each anecdote. He recognized, and advocated for, these children in a time when advocating for people with differences could get him killed (Nazi-occupied Austria). He not only describes the disorder but offers practical advice for the education of the youngsters which is still relevant today. He repeatedly asserts all children's value to society and points out their many strengths. My favorite quote:

"(We have) the right and the duty to speak out for these children with the whole force of our personality. We believe that only the absolutely dedicated and loving educator can achieve success with difficult individuals."

The other chapters in the book are also very informative, but vary in their readability. Gillberg's chapter on family studies sometimes reads like a medical chart. And don't forget to have your Multivariate Analysis textbook handy for Tantam's statistical chapter on Asperger characteristics in adulthood. The remaining four chapters contain a wealth of information and are pleasant to read. This is a book I will reference again and again.

This book advances theories of autistic thinking that look good on paper, primarily looking good to non-autistic readers, but that do not truly explain our experiences. Things that do not fit these theories are sidelined as unimportant, thereby allowing a researcher to force-fit our experiences to her mold. There are some interesting descriptions in this book, but the theories drawing them all together are lacking.

Unfortunately, the same could be said about most books by 'experts' in the field of autism, and this review might be interchangeable with several other books I've read which advance flawed descriptions of how autistic people think.

The first edition of Autism: Explaining the Enigma quickly became a classic It provides an account of what happens in the mind of a person with autism. The book proposed that the key problems were an inability to recognise and think about thoughts (theory of mind), and an inability to integrate pieces of information into coherent wholes (central coherence). It suggested that from this beginning, problems of communication, social interaction and flexibility follow as the complex interactions of human development unfold.

This updated edition reports on how this explanation has stood the test of time. A new chapter outlines developments in neuropsychological research that have taken place since the book was first published and reviews the growing body of work on the neurological basis of autism. The accessible style and structure of the original edition have been retained, with information and references updated throughout.

Unfortunately, the book is heavily based on medical model thinking and completely neglects other areas of discourse, such as psychoanalytic theories.