In a Different Key

November 9, 2015
Journalists Donvan and Zucker’s tremendous study keeps autism at its center while telling an extraordinary tale of social change. The authors follow evolving cultural responses to autism and autism spectrum disorders, including intolerance, a desperate quest for successful treatments, and the currently high level of awareness—which doesn’t always prevent misunderstanding. The only shaky aspects of this swooping narrative are Donvan and Zucker’s questionable, if not anachronistic, attempts to diagnose historical figures. Their work’s strength is a careful delineation of autism’s contemporary ramifications, including the sometimes disputed statistics and the vaccine scare that first made headlines in the late 1990s. The authors give thoughtful consideration to the array of treatments for autism that have been explored; the 1960s, for example, saw a now-shocking trend of LSD treatments. Viewed as a whole, the narrative ultimately reveals a transition from an emphasis on treating individual cases to a more society-wide effort for advocacy and inclusion—an effort that this book will do much to advance. Agent: Alia Hanna Habib, McCormick Literary.

March 1, 2016

Journalists Donvan and Zucker's examination of autism begins at the beginning: Donald Triplett, patient zero as diagnosed by Leo Kanner, whose symptoms and behaviors had started him on a fast track to institutionalization. Strangely enough, though mothers were often blamed for "causing" autism, it was Triplett's who advocated and cared for him. If there is a common theme throughout this history of autism, it is that parents were the ones who stepped forward, pushing for answers and progress against a disorder that medical professionals and psychologists often misunderstood, discounted, or ignored. The authors examine how these viewpoints created an atmosphere of ignorance and malpractice, from chelation and aversive therapies to the theory that the condition is caused by immunizations, now considered to be one of the greatest frauds in medical science history. Today, findings from the fields of genetics and neurobiology, and the voices of those with autism themselves contribute to a greater understanding of the condition. While the authors trace the history of autism to the present day, their study is not about conclusions. It's a time line--a spectrum--of the impressions and outcomes related to autism. VERDICT This book will not educate researchers with new information on autism. It will, however, introduce a human aspect to the chronology. Parents of autistic children will recognize themselves in many of these stories but also learn more about the truth behind them. Autistic individuals will take away lessons to forgive the past and to recognize the vast spectrum of difference--not just among those on the autism spectrum but among all people, who are always learning and growing.--Victoria Frerichs, Prescot, UK

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2015
Autism is a complex, challenging condition. Its history has been smudged by confusion and controversy. Donvan, a correspondent at ABC News, and Zucker, a TV producer with ABC and PBS and the mother of an autistic son, use stories of patients, parents, researchers, activists, physicians, psychologists, educators, and courtroom battles to illustrate how ways of thinking about autism have oscillated during the past 70 years. Many influential characters in the field are portrayed. Various treatments to address autism are chronicled. Earlier theories and remediessome cruel, outlandish, and even fraudulentare discredited, including the refrigerator mother, the MMR vaccine link, treatment with LSD, and punishment therapy that included electric shocks from a livestock prod. In 1988, autism awareness got a boost from Dustin Hoffman's performance in the film Rain Man. Presently, the American Psychiatric Association recognizes an all-embracing definition of the condition known as autistic spectrum disorder. Summing up, the authors write, Having autismbeing autisticrepresents but one more wrinkle in the fabric of humanity, and no one among us is living a life unwrinkled'. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)