The Autistic Brain: Understanding Autism and the Power of Neurodiversity from One Of The Most Accomplished And Well-Known Adults With Autism

This book is a delight from start to finish. It doesn't only mention all you need to know about autism but challenges preconceptions and the dangers of labeling but also gives sound advice about how to see the disorder in a positive light. Tenple Grandin is an inspiration to all of us whether autistic or not as she emphasizes the fact that we should look at the talents and abilities in a person and nurture them rather than insist on deficits. She also suggests that today's education system is too unilateral in that it favors the 'word-fact thinkers', leaving so many people feeling they don't fit into the mould. Her idea is that there are more than one way to think: in picture, in words and in patterns, which challenges IQ tests and the way we teach children in school and raise them at home. It's a thought-provoking read which was very well written and I will recommend it to anyone who is interested in knowing more about the diversity of brains and their individual thinking processes. Fabulous read!

I really love this book, I got so much out of it. It helped me to see beyond the existence of ‘umbrella diagnoses’ and it helped me understand how I can make the most of my strengths. Would love to read more from this author, it would be interesting to read about how autistic people can support their nervous system as it plays in so much with health - meltdowns/shutdowns.

This book was a nice read but it was a difficult read at the same time. It is very informative and does explain the autistic brain very well however the way it was written was quite overwhelming for me. I suffer from visual stress so I find it very difficult to read on white paper and the text was very close together and there was a lot of writing on each page but there was also plenty of visuals in there to support proccessing. This book is good to read in chunks, its a nice book to add to my collection of books on autism

As a late diagnosed autistic, it was strange trying to come to grips with it. I went to an appointment with my community mental health nurse about something completely different, and walked out with a high AQ50 score. I had never seriously considered that I was autistic before, and the rescources out there were not exactly what I needed, tiktok was confusing and everything was just what I'd seen in the media. I thought autism was just for children, I thought it was just for men. This book was a big part of me coming to terms with and accepting this part of me, this level of my understanding. The book is helpful, thoughtful, and easy to digest.

Temple Grandin has been a great role model for people n the autistic spectrum almost all her adult life, a fact celebrated in the recent movie about her entitled Temple. However in this book she explores, in her typical systematic and thorough way, what it is about the autistic brain that makes it so unique and special. And it seems that she has truly found the key... "Patterns" Temple asserts and backs this up with all kinds of evidence that the one thing all autistic brains excel at is noticing patterns. As Temple waxes lyrical on the importance of this strength and of helping the growing young person to develop this strength and then link it up with other ideas I found myself thinking here at last is a way to get this message aross to educators and others who spend so much time dismissing skills they cannot understand so of the millions of words written about autism over the years perhaps this is just the one word we need to shout from the rooftops. People with autistic spectrum disorders are BRILLIANT at spotting PATTERNS. So the only thing we parents and educators need to worry about is identifying what kind of patterns they are good at spotting and then developing this skill. Don't try to teach a fish to walk in other words. Celebrate it's ability to swim better than you could ever do and give it an ocean to swim in. (Not a tiny fishbowl) There are lots of other excellent and important messages in this book and I am promoting it to top of my list of books to recommend both to those new to ASD and those experienced in the field.

If You Have An Autistic Grand/Child Then You Should Read This

I was late-diagnosed with autism as an adult, I was eager to learn as much as possible about autism to better understand what was going on in my brain. This was one of the books I purchased. It brings interesting information about the physiology of the brain and comparisons between neurotypical and neurodivergent people. But I found it quite hard to read as the language is very advanced and not for the average person. There is no doubt that the author is lightening intelligent, I just had to give up on some chapters.

This is heavily science based (which I love) the only section that wasn't relevant to me was the school/university sections. Extremely well written. The book was recommended to me after my late diagnosis. Lots of history coupled with personal experiences.

Bonne service. Le livre est très instructif et inspirant.

Thank you so much for spending a lifetime supporting animals and humans. Keep on rolling. Dylan

Excellent book with so many insights about autistic brain

Hi, I'm Giulia Zatti. I'm not an autistic person but I am an OCD sufferer. I read the book “The autistic brain” cause I'm really interested in psychology and how the mind and the brain work. I'm also interested in behaviors, and above all in the work of Temple Grandin! I found the book really enlightening!! My attention was captured in particular by the following quotes: “(...) I can medicate for the anxiety somewhat, but I can't make it go away. So as long as I have to live with it, I can at least do so secure in the knowledge that the threat isn't real. The feeling of the threat is real – and that's a huge difference.”. I found this quote so related to my anxious behavior. Then here's another quote: “(...) For some people, a label can become the thing that defines them. It can easily lead to what I call a handicapped mentality. When a person gets a diagnosis of Asperger's, for instance, he might start to think, What's the point? or I'll never hold down a job. His whole life starts to revolve around what he can't do instead of what he can do, or at least what he can try to improve.”. In fact there's a huge stigma about mental conditions. And here's a final quote: “(…) Extreme distress at small changes? That was me as a kid. Fixated interests? Boy, I had that. Hypersensitivity to sensory input? Let me tell you about the squeeze machine.”. As I wrote before, I found the book enlightening.. really a source of inspiration.. And the last chapter “From the Margins to the Mainstream”, where matters like Education and Employment are talked through, made me better understand the condition and gave me a kind of hope..! Giulia Zatti

I would rate this book as one of the best I have read about autism. Temple Grandin is amazing. The information is very comprehensive and relevant.