įinally, the book ends with an expanded emphasis on Grandin's life and the strengths those with autism have, including attention to detail, pattern identification, and more that benefits them in mainstream society.
Grandin suggests that the sharp rise in diagnoses of autism-spectrum conditions has been due to this rigid DSM-5 definition resulting in doctors misapplying the label of autism and also grouping in a vast range of other conditions, such as those with Asperger's.
The great amount of variation between people with autism is also poorly considered by the DSM having a "single descriptor outside of the context of an individual’s unique circumstances". Later chapters also further concern themselves with medical diagnosis of autism and how changes to the topic from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV to DSM-5 fail to properly explain the complete nature of the condition and the behavioral and interpersonal components of it beyond just the merely physiological. Ī major focus of the book is on how autism affects someone's broader life, including problems in the input of sensory information for many with autism. The benefit of such technology and modern understandings of genetics is contrasted with the fact that many aspects of autism and related conditions may never be completely known due to neuroplasticity and how there is no one single biological answer due to variances in individuals. Several chapters then focus on advances in neuroscience and neuroimaging in particular. The following chapters investigate the biological background of autism and how historically it was claimed to be either the result of direct brain damage or poor parenting and how the practice of diagnostic classification, or nosology, negatively impacted the understanding of children with autism and others on the spectrum. The book begins in its first chapter by discussing autism itself and how Grandin was treated as a child by medical professionals before autism was properly understood or considered a medical diagnosis. The book also has an index and notes section for easy reference and page finding. Laid out into two sections with four chapters each, the first half of the book is titled "Looking At The Autistic Brain", which is followed by the latter half titled "Rethinking The Autistic Brain". It discusses Grandin's life experiences as a person with autism from the early days of scientific research on the topic and how advances in technology have revolutionized the understanding of autism and its connection to the brain.ĭifferent releases of the book came with alternative subtitles, including Exploring the Strength of a Different Kind of Mind and Helping Different Kinds of Minds Succeed. The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum is a 2013 nonfiction popular science book written by Temple Grandin and Richard Panek and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
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