Be Different: Adventures of a Free-Range Aspergian by John Elder Robison
It had to happen sooner or later. I reviewed a Temple Grandin book, I'd be failing myself and everyone else if I didn't also review at least one John Elder Robison book. Dr. Grandin and Mr. Robison are the first great autism speakers, the two powerful success stories that put autistic adults, and autism itself, on the public radar. I'd be doing myself and my readers a disservice if I didn't review at least one book from each of them.
I presently own three books by Mr. Robison, so I had to pick between them. I ended up with Be Different for several reasons, not the least of which is that he himself told me to read it several years ago. One of the churches downtown had put on a series, funded by a local college, to educate the public regarding disabilities and other minorities. Chris and I opted to go to it, and so I sat through his lecture, which was somewhat like this book: a mix of personal stories and information on autism.
I don't recall much of what he was specifically talking about, but I do recall that he knew how to amuse a crowd of neurotypical people. As he talked, he referenced pop culture, making people who got the references feel included, but also explaining in brief for people who didn't get the references. But what most caught my attention was his stories, or more specifically, how he told them. These were stories of his life, which, like mine, was mostly not sunshine and sleepy puppies. I found myself saddened by the hardships he had endured. After about 10 minutes of listening, I realized that people were laughing. Including Chris, at my side, at least until he saw my face.
Being out of sync with the crowd isn't all that unusual for me, of course. By nature, I'm a stranger in a strange land. But I couldn't figure out why people would be laughing at all these sad stories, until I listened to more than just the words. Mr. Robison, by use of gestures, expressions, and even word choice, was making the suffering of his life funny to relate. There was nothing wrong with the crowd. They were reacting precisely as he wished, laughing at the stories he was making funny to them.
The other thing I remember, related to this book, was when I pestered him afterwards, asking what a freshly-diagnosed young adult was supposed to do. He replied with the theme of this book, and honestly, a theme of his life: make your strengths into your work.
So this book is more or less his answer to that question, as well as thoughts, opinions, explanations, etc, of his life. It took me until the very back of the book, where the autism diagnosis and criteria are discussed, to realize that the book itself must have been organized around those things. The final section, which contains the DSM criteria, contains plainspeak (read: not medical jargon) explanations of what the criteria mean. It also contains an index to "Aspergian" behaviors, each of which is neatly matched up to a chapter or section of a chapter. I expect that bit would be quite helpful to someone trying to get a handle on what precisely autism is, and how it looks in people.
It's worth noting, I suppose, that I do not agree with Mr. Robison on a number of minor points. He prefers the words "Aspergian" for autistic people, and "nypicals" for neurotypical people. I will not be adopting the word Aspergian unless I move to a city, country, or other area named Aspergia. And the word "nypicals" just makes me think about cuticles, which cause me much annoyance since I'm not careful with my hands and they tend to get ragged.
More importantly, while it's (somewhat) easier to take a hyperfocused autistic person's Special Interest (ie: obsessive focus, like trains, cars, electronics, etc) and work it into a job, there are some of us on the spectrum that do not have a single obsessive interest. As such, the advice "take your strengths and make them into a job!" is just another career counselor tidbit for me. Maybe useful, but not the only advice you'll ever need.
I have multiple interests. I'm presently learning how to balance them, and my responsibilities, and my social life, such that nobody gets upset with me for ignoring them, but I still get things done and still have time for fun. (Also, I'm trying to learn what fun is. Maybe I'll do an entry on that later.) I do not have a single interest that I would be happy doing for ten years, or even five, I think.
It had to happen sooner or later. I reviewed a Temple Grandin book, I'd be failing myself and everyone else if I didn't also review at least one John Elder Robison book. Dr. Grandin and Mr. Robison are the first great autism speakers, the two powerful success stories that put autistic adults, and autism itself, on the public radar. I'd be doing myself and my readers a disservice if I didn't review at least one book from each of them.
I presently own three books by Mr. Robison, so I had to pick between them. I ended up with Be Different for several reasons, not the least of which is that he himself told me to read it several years ago. One of the churches downtown had put on a series, funded by a local college, to educate the public regarding disabilities and other minorities. Chris and I opted to go to it, and so I sat through his lecture, which was somewhat like this book: a mix of personal stories and information on autism.
I don't recall much of what he was specifically talking about, but I do recall that he knew how to amuse a crowd of neurotypical people. As he talked, he referenced pop culture, making people who got the references feel included, but also explaining in brief for people who didn't get the references. But what most caught my attention was his stories, or more specifically, how he told them. These were stories of his life, which, like mine, was mostly not sunshine and sleepy puppies. I found myself saddened by the hardships he had endured. After about 10 minutes of listening, I realized that people were laughing. Including Chris, at my side, at least until he saw my face.
Being out of sync with the crowd isn't all that unusual for me, of course. By nature, I'm a stranger in a strange land. But I couldn't figure out why people would be laughing at all these sad stories, until I listened to more than just the words. Mr. Robison, by use of gestures, expressions, and even word choice, was making the suffering of his life funny to relate. There was nothing wrong with the crowd. They were reacting precisely as he wished, laughing at the stories he was making funny to them.
The other thing I remember, related to this book, was when I pestered him afterwards, asking what a freshly-diagnosed young adult was supposed to do. He replied with the theme of this book, and honestly, a theme of his life: make your strengths into your work.
So this book is more or less his answer to that question, as well as thoughts, opinions, explanations, etc, of his life. It took me until the very back of the book, where the autism diagnosis and criteria are discussed, to realize that the book itself must have been organized around those things. The final section, which contains the DSM criteria, contains plainspeak (read: not medical jargon) explanations of what the criteria mean. It also contains an index to "Aspergian" behaviors, each of which is neatly matched up to a chapter or section of a chapter. I expect that bit would be quite helpful to someone trying to get a handle on what precisely autism is, and how it looks in people.
It's worth noting, I suppose, that I do not agree with Mr. Robison on a number of minor points. He prefers the words "Aspergian" for autistic people, and "nypicals" for neurotypical people. I will not be adopting the word Aspergian unless I move to a city, country, or other area named Aspergia. And the word "nypicals" just makes me think about cuticles, which cause me much annoyance since I'm not careful with my hands and they tend to get ragged.
More importantly, while it's (somewhat) easier to take a hyperfocused autistic person's Special Interest (ie: obsessive focus, like trains, cars, electronics, etc) and work it into a job, there are some of us on the spectrum that do not have a single obsessive interest. As such, the advice "take your strengths and make them into a job!" is just another career counselor tidbit for me. Maybe useful, but not the only advice you'll ever need.
I have multiple interests. I'm presently learning how to balance them, and my responsibilities, and my social life, such that nobody gets upset with me for ignoring them, but I still get things done and still have time for fun. (Also, I'm trying to learn what fun is. Maybe I'll do an entry on that later.) I do not have a single interest that I would be happy doing for ten years, or even five, I think.
Read This Book If
You want to get inside the mind of the other of the two great autism speakers, or want an idea of how the DSM criteria of autism can actually show in a person. He is definitely a quirky person, and the book is an interesting read. His advice and commentary on his life is useful and entertaining. Overall, a good read.
I read his book "Look Me in the Eye" and really loved it for the stories. He ended up hanging out with other misfits (starving artist musicians) and building his social group from there where his talents were wanted, which was repairing and enhancing mechanical devices. I do agree with him that you really have to double down on your strengths and be much better at them than you would need to be if you were not on the spectrum. I say every disability you possess doubles how hard you have to work for the same amount of money. It's held true for me anyway.
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