What do you think?
Rate this book
The Einstein Syndrome
The Einstein Syndrome is a follow-up to Late-Talking Children, which established Thomas Sowell as a leading spokesman on the subject of late-talking children. While many children who talk late suffer from developmental disorders or autism, there is a certain well-defined group who are developmentally normal or even quite bright, yet who may go past their fourth birthday before beginning to talk. These children are often misdiagnosed as autistic or retarded, a mistake that is doubly hard on parents who must first worry about their apparently handicapped children and then see them lumped into special classes and therapy groups where all the other children are clearly very different.Since he first became involved in this issue in the mid-90s, Sowell has joined with Stephen Camarata of Vanderbilt University, who has conducted a much broader, more rigorous study of this phenomenon than the anecdotes reported in Late-Talking Children. Sowell can now identify a particular syndrome, a cluster of common symptoms and family characteristics, that differentiates these late-talking children from others; relate this syndrome to other syndromes; speculate about its causes; and describe how children with this syndrome are likely to develop.
232 pages, Hardcover
First published January 28, 1963
119 people are currently reading
1039 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Sowell
88 books5,600 followersThomas Sowell is an American economist, social philosopher, and political commentator. He is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. With widely published commentary and books—and as a guest on TV and radio—he became a well-known voice in the American conservative movement as a prominent black conservative. He was a recipient of the National Humanities Medal from President George W. Bush in 2002.
Sowell was born in Gastonia, North Carolina and grew up in Harlem, New York City. Due to poverty and difficulties at home, he dropped out of Stuyvesant High School and worked various odd jobs, eventually serving in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War. Afterward, he took night classes at Howard University and then attended Harvard University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1958. He earned a master's degree in economics from Columbia University the next year and a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago in 1968. In his academic career, he held professorships at Cornell University, Brandeis University, and the University of California, Los Angeles. He has also worked at think tanks including the Urban Institute. Since 1977, he has worked at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, where he is the Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow on Public Policy.
Sowell was an important figure to the conservative movement during the Reagan era, influencing fellow economist Walter E. Williams and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He was offered a position as Federal Trade Commissioner in the Ford administration, and was considered for posts including U.S. Secretary of Education in the Reagan administration, but declined both times.
Sowell is the author of more than 45 books (including revised and new editions) on a variety of subjects including politics, economics, education and race, and he has been a syndicated columnist in more than 150 newspapers. His views are described as conservative, especially on social issues; libertarian, especially on economics; or libertarian-conservative. He has said he may be best labeled as a libertarian, though he disagrees with the "libertarian movement" on some issues, such as national defense.
Sowell was born in Gastonia, North Carolina and grew up in Harlem, New York City. Due to poverty and difficulties at home, he dropped out of Stuyvesant High School and worked various odd jobs, eventually serving in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War. Afterward, he took night classes at Howard University and then attended Harvard University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1958. He earned a master's degree in economics from Columbia University the next year and a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago in 1968. In his academic career, he held professorships at Cornell University, Brandeis University, and the University of California, Los Angeles. He has also worked at think tanks including the Urban Institute. Since 1977, he has worked at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, where he is the Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow on Public Policy.
Sowell was an important figure to the conservative movement during the Reagan era, influencing fellow economist Walter E. Williams and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He was offered a position as Federal Trade Commissioner in the Ford administration, and was considered for posts including U.S. Secretary of Education in the Reagan administration, but declined both times.
Sowell is the author of more than 45 books (including revised and new editions) on a variety of subjects including politics, economics, education and race, and he has been a syndicated columnist in more than 150 newspapers. His views are described as conservative, especially on social issues; libertarian, especially on economics; or libertarian-conservative. He has said he may be best labeled as a libertarian, though he disagrees with the "libertarian movement" on some issues, such as national defense.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
October 21, 2020
Whether or not my child has precisely what is described in this book, I can say for a fact that he exhibits many of these behaviors.
At nearly two, despite the fact that he was not speaking beyond a word here and there, we attempted to put him in preschool. We hoped he would advance quicker around children his age. The teachers were immediately frustrated that he did not listen to instruction. He would not sit in a circle and sing songs. They claimed they could not give us a progress report because he would not participate.
When his second birthday rolled around, the school did a little ceremony where everyone sat in a circle and they sang happy birthday while we danced with him (which he hated) and had us say a few things about Jack, including what he liked. I said he loved letters and numbers and was working on counting to 30. One teacher took note of this and sat him down with flash cards.
She was shocked to find that while he was socially and verbally behind, he was more advanced in analytical skills than the other members of his class despite being the youngest. He knew every letter and letter sound when asked out of order. He knew all of his numbers up to 30, colors and complex shapes. The subject of autism never came up, because he is clearly very affectionate, loves to have fun and laugh and makes tons of eye contact. The principle expressed that it sometimes kept her up thinking what she could do for Jack.
Due to Covid, we had to pull him shortly after and I am glad that we did. In hindsight, he was not ready to be put in that situation. It was my anxiety and the judgments of others compelling me to force him into a situation I hoped would make him more “normal”. But he isn’t normal, and this book has allowed me to see that that isn’t a bad thing. I’m ready to celebrate his differences and advocate for my son in a way that I don’t feel I was before.
At nearly two, despite the fact that he was not speaking beyond a word here and there, we attempted to put him in preschool. We hoped he would advance quicker around children his age. The teachers were immediately frustrated that he did not listen to instruction. He would not sit in a circle and sing songs. They claimed they could not give us a progress report because he would not participate.
When his second birthday rolled around, the school did a little ceremony where everyone sat in a circle and they sang happy birthday while we danced with him (which he hated) and had us say a few things about Jack, including what he liked. I said he loved letters and numbers and was working on counting to 30. One teacher took note of this and sat him down with flash cards.
She was shocked to find that while he was socially and verbally behind, he was more advanced in analytical skills than the other members of his class despite being the youngest. He knew every letter and letter sound when asked out of order. He knew all of his numbers up to 30, colors and complex shapes. The subject of autism never came up, because he is clearly very affectionate, loves to have fun and laugh and makes tons of eye contact. The principle expressed that it sometimes kept her up thinking what she could do for Jack.
Due to Covid, we had to pull him shortly after and I am glad that we did. In hindsight, he was not ready to be put in that situation. It was my anxiety and the judgments of others compelling me to force him into a situation I hoped would make him more “normal”. But he isn’t normal, and this book has allowed me to see that that isn’t a bad thing. I’m ready to celebrate his differences and advocate for my son in a way that I don’t feel I was before.
May 19, 2009
I recently read Late-Talking Children, also by Thomas Sowell, because of concerns I have regarding my own son. I could say much the same for this book as I had for that one. It's pretty much further discussion - with information from more study and more sources - of the same concept, except now it has a name: the Einstein Syndrome. I do not think it's necessary for someone to read both books as this one reiterates a lot of what is in Late-Talking Children. This is why I gave this book four stars, as it didn't offer much new information - just expanded on what was in the previous one. There's nothing wrong with that - I just wasn't blown away with this as I had been with the other. I suspect that if I'd read this one first, I would have given it five stars for the same reason I gave Late-Talking Children five stars. That said, this book did help strengthen my resolve to protect my son. I do NOT think anything is wrong with him. I think that he's just developing verbal skills on his own timetable - after honing many of his more advanced skills.
May 20, 2012
If you have a late talker who has a good understanding of language (little to no receptive language delay) and has been told their child does not have any underlying disorder then you definitely need to check out this book. If anything, it will give you some insight into children who are bright but happen to talk late and why this might be the case, especially children who are showing signs of advanced analytical thinking or whose families have an analytical background. The author explains how children's brains often put resources into the child's analytical development and less focus on the speech development areas of the brain. In these cases it is quite true that they will talk when they are ready and therapy often does little help or can even do more harm than good.
The editing in this book is pretty poor, as there are full ideas and paragraphs that are often repeated throughout the book, and it can be a bit distracting.
The editing in this book is pretty poor, as there are full ideas and paragraphs that are often repeated throughout the book, and it can be a bit distracting.
March 25, 2020
The beauty of motherhood, I believe, is that it brings out the Wonder Woman and the mortal human in you, in equal parts. It has powers to challenge you, humble you, test your strengths, and get you down on your knees and face-to-face with your weaknesses. I take pride in my attempt to parent intentionally, and one of my non-negotiables is refraining from using external (societal/conventional/peer) variables as yardsticks in computing my child's achievements (or lack thereof). My husband and I agreed to not fret over the developmental milestones as we stepped into the journey of parenthood more than a year ago and, thereby, allow our child the dignity she deserves of growing at her own pace. In fact, we even decided to not read about these milestones to further prevent it from clouding our interactions with her. For the most part, we have followed cue-based parenting in that we pay close attention and follow her lead without worrying about whether or not it's the "right time to do it," and it has worked well for us. However, a challenge we failed to consider is that a child is expected to showcase certain skills at a certain age when interacting with the community, and a deviation could be considered as an anomaly; even healthcare professionals express concerns when a child fails to tick off the milestone checklist. And I get this, early detection followed by interventions, evaluations, and professional help are significant markers of positive outcomes in cases that require one or more forms of remediation. However, I contest the idea that every child MUST seek help just because they are operating on a different speed. I strongly believe that the child's own temperament and personality, as well as significant influential factors, must be considered (by listening to what parents have to say) to determine the child's individual needs.
To illustrate, our daughter appeared to have achieved milestones relating to motor skills much earlier than babies her age. Again, we stuck to our "no reading about milestones" rule, but we were told and informed by parents we encountered, parents of different generations as well, that she is "doing it sooner." Her doctor made no such comments other than to voice satisfaction over her development. However, things started to change when she started daycare. Our happy and contented baby became miserable now that she had to spend the day away from me! I realize there is a window of adjustment and I had my hopes pinned on this being "just a phase." Well, it wasn't. Her anxiety got progressively bad to worse. A year-old baby, not sleeping for more than 6 minutes (yes, 6 minutes, and not at a stretch), refusing to eat, throwing up whatever little she did eat, and going loose bowel with God knows what is left in her system reflects intense stress if not trauma! Also, her senior and experienced teachers complained, every single day that she was in their care, about her lack of peer socialization skills instead of considering the possibility of introvertedness. The teachers are understaffed and overworked, I totally get that it's impossible for them to focus on one child that seems to have higher needs than others. But it was more than that, I could see that they treated her differently, almost with an air of contempt that this little thing is openly defying them and refusing to learn what they have taught to hundreds of kids before her. Now, this is a kid that has a good sense of self-preservation. It was clear that she responded better to younger teachers, who seemed to enjoy playing with her, teachers who let her learn the way she wanted to, teachers who didn't hate her for being herself. It didn't help matters with her sleep or health in general (and I don't blame the teachers for this, there's nothing they could have done in this matter), but it taught her father and me something very important about her personality. As young as she is, she is her own person and she doesn't take to people who are overbearing. I have lost count of the number of times I have used the terms "strong-willed" to describe her, but that's exactly what she was and still is.
On her 15-month wellness visit, her doctor expressed concern over the fact that she hasn't begun talking. The doctor informed us that at 15 months, a toddler must have at least 20 words in her vocabulary even if she isn't enunciating them correctly. She went on to suggest speech therapy if nothing changes by the time she is 18 months old. I was surprised that she didn't recommend any sort of evaluation (which would have made more sense to me) before jumping to recommend speech therapy Granted, she did the needful and asked questions that led her to learn that Misha understands everything that is spoken to her, comprehends the commands (follows it only if she wants to), and communicates non-verbally, and efficiently so. I wasn't happy with her narrowed approach, and I decided to be honest. "Is it mandatory - this speech therapy? I mean, some kids talk late, why push it?" Well, she couldn't be deterred. The expression on her face clearly reflected her impression of the kind of mother she thought I was. "Don't you want your child to talk?" was all she said!
It took us a while to come to the awareness that we were doing what we had sworn to never do. But here we were, worrying that something was wrong with our baby because -only because- she was different from the lot: in social settings, in the way she engages with (rather keeps away from) her peers, her lack of interest in verbal communication, and especially her strong personality. Instead of embracing her uniqueness, we lamented, strong in our belief that it was somehow our fault. Especially mine. Maybe I didn't talk to her enough? Should I have insisted that she sit and listen to me reading storybooks for her instead of letting her dance? Could I not have "given in" to the games she wants to play and enforced educational time instead? Could I have been a strict mom during play dates and made it clear that she has no option but to engage in play with her peers? Even as I asked these questions to myself, I knew I couldn't have done any of it. It is one thing to instill discipline with regards to food, lifestyle, and behavior; but to orchestrate everything to fit an agenda aimed at acquiring a milestone without considering her response and interests? No judgment if it's a common approach, but I can't be that parent. I believe that she has her own innate intelligence bestowed by Mother Nature and there are times I must simply follow her lead and offer support in the way that encourages curiosity, exploration, and learning. Acknowledgment usually leads to change, and that's what happened to us. We recognized that being different is not wrong or even an anomaly. We let her be, we decided to simply support her in the way she needs us. All things considering, we also fear a wrongful diagnosis of her either being on the Autism spectrum or having ADHD. And that's how I began gathering information about children who talk late, the information I would need in order to advocate for her in the event of an erroneous diagnosis. One of my best friends introduced me to the concept of The Einstein Syndrome which led me to this book.
The Einstein Syndrome is not exactly a medical term as far as my research into the subject goes. The ES refers to a small subset of children who are "late talkers" but are almost always wrongfully labeled as being autistic (and PDD before DSM5). The basic idea is that these children, like Einstein, have higher IQ overcompensating their speech "delay." In other words, the part of the brain responsible for analytical skills is dominant, thereby, rendering the area responsible for speech slower. It's important to note that a higher IQ doesn't necessarily mean inherent talent in all fields. These children, often exemplary in maths and music, are not exempt from the possibility of learning difficulties. Another key distinction is the unwavering attention span these children reserve for avenues that challenge and interest them, sometimes way advanced for their age, while appearing to not have even the slightest clue as far as basic age-appropriate tasks are concerned. Interestingly, a majority of them aren't toilet trained, capable of doing puzzles ahead and earlier than their peers, have an aptitude for math and music. Perhaps the most astonishing aspect is the commonality among the parent(s) in using the exact same words ("strong-willed") in describing the child. It was as if the author knew my toddler!
The book does what it is meant to do - help parents in determining the child's needs. And for that, I am immensely grateful to the author. Thomas Sowell, an economist and a social theorist, appears to have dedicated ample time and effort in understanding the lesser-known idea that is the Einstein Syndrome upon experiencing a dilemma that is no different from mine - a child that didn't look like they wanted to talk. Reasonably, this has been an advantage as well as a disadvantage. His personal experience automatically dialed the tone of narrative to match the much-needed solace sought by confused and anxious parents. However, the language used (such as, "retard" as opposed to "challenged") clearly reflects his beginner status in the field of mental health. It's also plausible that a reader with a narrow perspective could easily be offended by the bluntness with which he has presented the information. In the same breath, I would suggest that the reader exercise caution in considering their situation in entirety than merely focusing on the selling point of the topic. I understand the joy in realizing the brightness of the little humans we gave birth to, however, we would be doing a grave disservice in choosing to deny the reality. I repeat, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK if you are planning to use it as an accomplice to your denial.
Here's my biggest take away: Milestones are statistics based on the count of majority. Instead of dragging your outlier into the bell curve, accept and embrace the stubborn little iconoclast for who she is. Support her in the way she needs you to. Love her unconditionally. Encourage her to grow into who she is meant to be. 4 stars (but with caution).
Link to my blog 👇
https://borrowedforlightreadingandpad...
To illustrate, our daughter appeared to have achieved milestones relating to motor skills much earlier than babies her age. Again, we stuck to our "no reading about milestones" rule, but we were told and informed by parents we encountered, parents of different generations as well, that she is "doing it sooner." Her doctor made no such comments other than to voice satisfaction over her development. However, things started to change when she started daycare. Our happy and contented baby became miserable now that she had to spend the day away from me! I realize there is a window of adjustment and I had my hopes pinned on this being "just a phase." Well, it wasn't. Her anxiety got progressively bad to worse. A year-old baby, not sleeping for more than 6 minutes (yes, 6 minutes, and not at a stretch), refusing to eat, throwing up whatever little she did eat, and going loose bowel with God knows what is left in her system reflects intense stress if not trauma! Also, her senior and experienced teachers complained, every single day that she was in their care, about her lack of peer socialization skills instead of considering the possibility of introvertedness. The teachers are understaffed and overworked, I totally get that it's impossible for them to focus on one child that seems to have higher needs than others. But it was more than that, I could see that they treated her differently, almost with an air of contempt that this little thing is openly defying them and refusing to learn what they have taught to hundreds of kids before her. Now, this is a kid that has a good sense of self-preservation. It was clear that she responded better to younger teachers, who seemed to enjoy playing with her, teachers who let her learn the way she wanted to, teachers who didn't hate her for being herself. It didn't help matters with her sleep or health in general (and I don't blame the teachers for this, there's nothing they could have done in this matter), but it taught her father and me something very important about her personality. As young as she is, she is her own person and she doesn't take to people who are overbearing. I have lost count of the number of times I have used the terms "strong-willed" to describe her, but that's exactly what she was and still is.
On her 15-month wellness visit, her doctor expressed concern over the fact that she hasn't begun talking. The doctor informed us that at 15 months, a toddler must have at least 20 words in her vocabulary even if she isn't enunciating them correctly. She went on to suggest speech therapy if nothing changes by the time she is 18 months old. I was surprised that she didn't recommend any sort of evaluation (which would have made more sense to me) before jumping to recommend speech therapy Granted, she did the needful and asked questions that led her to learn that Misha understands everything that is spoken to her, comprehends the commands (follows it only if she wants to), and communicates non-verbally, and efficiently so. I wasn't happy with her narrowed approach, and I decided to be honest. "Is it mandatory - this speech therapy? I mean, some kids talk late, why push it?" Well, she couldn't be deterred. The expression on her face clearly reflected her impression of the kind of mother she thought I was. "Don't you want your child to talk?" was all she said!
It took us a while to come to the awareness that we were doing what we had sworn to never do. But here we were, worrying that something was wrong with our baby because -only because- she was different from the lot: in social settings, in the way she engages with (rather keeps away from) her peers, her lack of interest in verbal communication, and especially her strong personality. Instead of embracing her uniqueness, we lamented, strong in our belief that it was somehow our fault. Especially mine. Maybe I didn't talk to her enough? Should I have insisted that she sit and listen to me reading storybooks for her instead of letting her dance? Could I not have "given in" to the games she wants to play and enforced educational time instead? Could I have been a strict mom during play dates and made it clear that she has no option but to engage in play with her peers? Even as I asked these questions to myself, I knew I couldn't have done any of it. It is one thing to instill discipline with regards to food, lifestyle, and behavior; but to orchestrate everything to fit an agenda aimed at acquiring a milestone without considering her response and interests? No judgment if it's a common approach, but I can't be that parent. I believe that she has her own innate intelligence bestowed by Mother Nature and there are times I must simply follow her lead and offer support in the way that encourages curiosity, exploration, and learning. Acknowledgment usually leads to change, and that's what happened to us. We recognized that being different is not wrong or even an anomaly. We let her be, we decided to simply support her in the way she needs us. All things considering, we also fear a wrongful diagnosis of her either being on the Autism spectrum or having ADHD. And that's how I began gathering information about children who talk late, the information I would need in order to advocate for her in the event of an erroneous diagnosis. One of my best friends introduced me to the concept of The Einstein Syndrome which led me to this book.
The Einstein Syndrome is not exactly a medical term as far as my research into the subject goes. The ES refers to a small subset of children who are "late talkers" but are almost always wrongfully labeled as being autistic (and PDD before DSM5). The basic idea is that these children, like Einstein, have higher IQ overcompensating their speech "delay." In other words, the part of the brain responsible for analytical skills is dominant, thereby, rendering the area responsible for speech slower. It's important to note that a higher IQ doesn't necessarily mean inherent talent in all fields. These children, often exemplary in maths and music, are not exempt from the possibility of learning difficulties. Another key distinction is the unwavering attention span these children reserve for avenues that challenge and interest them, sometimes way advanced for their age, while appearing to not have even the slightest clue as far as basic age-appropriate tasks are concerned. Interestingly, a majority of them aren't toilet trained, capable of doing puzzles ahead and earlier than their peers, have an aptitude for math and music. Perhaps the most astonishing aspect is the commonality among the parent(s) in using the exact same words ("strong-willed") in describing the child. It was as if the author knew my toddler!
The book does what it is meant to do - help parents in determining the child's needs. And for that, I am immensely grateful to the author. Thomas Sowell, an economist and a social theorist, appears to have dedicated ample time and effort in understanding the lesser-known idea that is the Einstein Syndrome upon experiencing a dilemma that is no different from mine - a child that didn't look like they wanted to talk. Reasonably, this has been an advantage as well as a disadvantage. His personal experience automatically dialed the tone of narrative to match the much-needed solace sought by confused and anxious parents. However, the language used (such as, "retard" as opposed to "challenged") clearly reflects his beginner status in the field of mental health. It's also plausible that a reader with a narrow perspective could easily be offended by the bluntness with which he has presented the information. In the same breath, I would suggest that the reader exercise caution in considering their situation in entirety than merely focusing on the selling point of the topic. I understand the joy in realizing the brightness of the little humans we gave birth to, however, we would be doing a grave disservice in choosing to deny the reality. I repeat, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK if you are planning to use it as an accomplice to your denial.
Here's my biggest take away: Milestones are statistics based on the count of majority. Instead of dragging your outlier into the bell curve, accept and embrace the stubborn little iconoclast for who she is. Support her in the way she needs you to. Love her unconditionally. Encourage her to grow into who she is meant to be. 4 stars (but with caution).
Link to my blog 👇
https://borrowedforlightreadingandpad...
June 24, 2008
Economist Thomas Sowell was inspired (and slightly pressured) into researching children with delayed speech who also happen to be bright. And he makes a case for this subset of kids in our culture. I have a son with similar circumstances, so I tried to read this book objectively, but when you love someone and the subject matter skirts an issue in his life, well, you can't leave your heart out of it.
I've seen two approaches to this book: people who call if dangerous and people who call it genius. I fall somewhere inbetween. It could break the hearts of parents who yearn for their kid to be a "little Einstein" rather than PDD or Asperger's, but it can also give hope in the reports of kids living seemingly fufilling lives (going to college, having distinguihed careers, living normally in society).
Overall, it's an interesting read that comes close to science but displays alarming bias in places. Read it with an open-mind and ponder the young and growing field of Autism and all its suburbs.
I've seen two approaches to this book: people who call if dangerous and people who call it genius. I fall somewhere inbetween. It could break the hearts of parents who yearn for their kid to be a "little Einstein" rather than PDD or Asperger's, but it can also give hope in the reports of kids living seemingly fufilling lives (going to college, having distinguihed careers, living normally in society).
Overall, it's an interesting read that comes close to science but displays alarming bias in places. Read it with an open-mind and ponder the young and growing field of Autism and all its suburbs.
January 14, 2020
Sowell describes children who talk late but are gifted in other areas such as mathematics, puzzles, or music. He suggests the possibility that during development, the area of the brain responsible for these gifts takes resources from the area of the brain responsible for speech--an economist's explanation that some empirical evidence supports. Most kids eventually do speak normally or outgrow the late talking.
Sowell can be repetitive. Sometimes, Sowell covers ground he's already covered in earlier chapters or sections. Occasionally, Sowell repeats his ideas. See what I did there?
Sowell can be repetitive. Sometimes, Sowell covers ground he's already covered in earlier chapters or sections. Occasionally, Sowell repeats his ideas. See what I did there?
December 31, 2018
I sympathise and agree that everyone needs to equip themselves with a healthy level of scepticism and willingness to fight if about to engage with the medical-diagnostic complex or edu-state bureaucracy. However often Sowell's broad disparagement of those working within these areas leads me to suspicion that the free market individualism of his economic work (from what I gather - I haven't read any of his economics books) has helped to create the axe which is being ground here.
October 21, 2010
This is a dangerous book. It can give parents of late-talking children a reason to be complacent and encourage denial. I feel that it makes autism sound even scarier than it is. There is a SPECTRUM of AUTISM. There are no limits to what a child with this diagnosis can achieve. I do agree with his suggestion of having multiple evaluations completed by varying QUALIFIED professionals.
February 12, 2013
Some stuff that's obviously wrong/misleading, other things are very interesting. The guy is certainly not an expert and really stretches to make "factual" points. Interesting, but read with caution. "Leading spokesman" --> there is no other spokesman, and furthermore, many would argue there is no issue to be spokesman of. Again, read with caution.
December 8, 2017
I'm really glad I read this book. I don't know if my son has the Einstein Syndrome, but my biggest takeaway was how important it is to trust myself as a parent and not let random stranger's snap judgement dictate my child's life or my perception of his abilities.
August 25, 2024
This was a comforting book for me to read, as I didn’t start talking until I was 3 (don’t really know more details past that). Found the first half to be more useful than the second, which felt like justification that late talking children aren’t idiots.
June 6, 2025
This is for a very specific target audience. If you know, you know.
If your kid is out of the no-talking stage, it can still be interesting. It took me a while to figure out how this could be helpful. As in, what’s the point of this label if it doesn’t change anything? But it did help explain what’s considered normal, especially if your late-talker is your first kid and stays at home. And it did give me an idea of what my kid’s potential is / her likely professional pursuits and how to help boost that potential (at least, what to avoid in order to keep from squashing it).
If your kid is out of the no-talking stage, it can still be interesting. It took me a while to figure out how this could be helpful. As in, what’s the point of this label if it doesn’t change anything? But it did help explain what’s considered normal, especially if your late-talker is your first kid and stays at home. And it did give me an idea of what my kid’s potential is / her likely professional pursuits and how to help boost that potential (at least, what to avoid in order to keep from squashing it).
January 3, 2022
Book Review
Late Talking Children
Thomas Sowell
5/5 stars
"You can't make an expert understand something when his income depends on not understanding it."
*******
We purchased this book because the youngest of our children (18 months old) seems to be slow to speak, and his physician suggested that we contact a specialist.
We wanted to get some good ideas from a good thinker who has ACTUAL EXPERIENCE dealing with late talking children (i.e., Thomas Sowell, whose son was a late talker) about how to address the problem.
It has been my experience that: Even for diagnoses that have concrete and quantified markers, such as Behçet's syndrome (which I myself have), it can take a *very* long time to get a diagnosis--and *especially* if the diagnosis is exclusionary.
*******
The human brain is a thing that is only extremely poorly understood, and most people who diagnose in fields that deal with the black box of the human brain have very little to go off of.
As such, "turf and ego considerations" (p.113) could get you a misdiagnosis--with all the wasted time and needless therapeutic frustrations that that entails-- and oftentimes "unreliable diagnoses are usually no farther away than your local school district." (ibid)
Also, once you get a wrong diagnosis about something (say ADHD as opposed to hypomania), it becomes a lot more difficult to get off of that track.
It is mentioned only in passing in this book (p.135), but: autism is the classic example of a severely overdiagnosed disease. At most, 1 out of 1000 children are autistic. But, it seems like every idiot who draws breath is ready to diagnose someone else / someone else's child as autistic. (The current CDC rate is 1 out of 44. Or, a 23-fold increase. And don't even get me started about the three order of magnitude increase in diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder.)
Keeping with the example of autism: It's also an example of a disease with fluctuant diagnostic criteria. (Asperger's was the disease of the hour that everyone was diagnosing everyone else with until all of a sudden it dropped out of the DSM in between editions.)
So, what do we learn from this book?
1. Late talking children are a lot more common than one would think.
2. Most of the time (75%, p.146), it resolves itself-- given enough time. And there is nothing that can be done to push children to speak any sooner than they are ready.
3. Sometimes a differential diagnosis has to be made for many other possible ailments that are treated by many different INDEPENDENT specialists (Autism. Hearing impairment. Etc), and it must be understood that not all children perform on cue for evaluators/therapists.
Unwillingness ≠ inability.
4. Diagnosis and treatment are two separate things, and speech therapists are fine as long as they are not trying to diagnose autism and staying about the business of speech therapy.
It must be understood that most people that we would encounter in the course of public education (such as school social workers) have degrees on the level of Associates/Bachelors, and people who work in Education tend to not be the sharpest pencils in the box. (EXTRA FUN FACT: Those who can't do, teach. (p.136, 189). It has been known for several decades that the least competent students in most disciplines become teachers. This author cites references all the way from the 1950s through the aughts.)
5. Not all children who are late talkers are bright, but there are a number of evident characteristics of bright late talkers (p.112):
a. Outstanding / precocious analytical or musical abilities.
b. Outstanding memories.
c. Strong wills.
d. Highly selective interests.
e. Delayed toilet training.
f. Precocious ability at reading/numbers/computers.
g. Disproportionate numbers of close relatives in occupations requiring analytical / mathematical/musical abilities.
h. Unusual concentration at their selected tasks.
6. The brain *really is* a black box, and there are different hypotheses about differential brain development that can explain a lot of late talking, as well as other diseases were development is very uneven. (The author makes some very apt comparisons to Williams syndrome.)
7. "Understanding and not speaking" is worlds apart from "neither speaking nor understanding." And the former turn out far better than the latter (p.146).
8. If you have a child in public school, you must be extremely judicious about evaluations that are done there. For the reason that: people who work there tend to be the bottom of the barrel in any intellectual sense of the word. The author does not directly say, but I would recommend ducking public schools all together if you can afford it.
Verdict: Recommended. This book has been a great time saver.
Our son understands things that are said to him, and he is able to follow instructions. We will leave this topic alone for another two or three years and pick it up only if he does not start proper speech by around 4. (p.146)
Late Talking Children
Thomas Sowell
5/5 stars
"You can't make an expert understand something when his income depends on not understanding it."
*******
We purchased this book because the youngest of our children (18 months old) seems to be slow to speak, and his physician suggested that we contact a specialist.
We wanted to get some good ideas from a good thinker who has ACTUAL EXPERIENCE dealing with late talking children (i.e., Thomas Sowell, whose son was a late talker) about how to address the problem.
It has been my experience that: Even for diagnoses that have concrete and quantified markers, such as Behçet's syndrome (which I myself have), it can take a *very* long time to get a diagnosis--and *especially* if the diagnosis is exclusionary.
*******
The human brain is a thing that is only extremely poorly understood, and most people who diagnose in fields that deal with the black box of the human brain have very little to go off of.
As such, "turf and ego considerations" (p.113) could get you a misdiagnosis--with all the wasted time and needless therapeutic frustrations that that entails-- and oftentimes "unreliable diagnoses are usually no farther away than your local school district." (ibid)
Also, once you get a wrong diagnosis about something (say ADHD as opposed to hypomania), it becomes a lot more difficult to get off of that track.
It is mentioned only in passing in this book (p.135), but: autism is the classic example of a severely overdiagnosed disease. At most, 1 out of 1000 children are autistic. But, it seems like every idiot who draws breath is ready to diagnose someone else / someone else's child as autistic. (The current CDC rate is 1 out of 44. Or, a 23-fold increase. And don't even get me started about the three order of magnitude increase in diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder.)
Keeping with the example of autism: It's also an example of a disease with fluctuant diagnostic criteria. (Asperger's was the disease of the hour that everyone was diagnosing everyone else with until all of a sudden it dropped out of the DSM in between editions.)
So, what do we learn from this book?
1. Late talking children are a lot more common than one would think.
2. Most of the time (75%, p.146), it resolves itself-- given enough time. And there is nothing that can be done to push children to speak any sooner than they are ready.
3. Sometimes a differential diagnosis has to be made for many other possible ailments that are treated by many different INDEPENDENT specialists (Autism. Hearing impairment. Etc), and it must be understood that not all children perform on cue for evaluators/therapists.
Unwillingness ≠ inability.
4. Diagnosis and treatment are two separate things, and speech therapists are fine as long as they are not trying to diagnose autism and staying about the business of speech therapy.
It must be understood that most people that we would encounter in the course of public education (such as school social workers) have degrees on the level of Associates/Bachelors, and people who work in Education tend to not be the sharpest pencils in the box. (EXTRA FUN FACT: Those who can't do, teach. (p.136, 189). It has been known for several decades that the least competent students in most disciplines become teachers. This author cites references all the way from the 1950s through the aughts.)
5. Not all children who are late talkers are bright, but there are a number of evident characteristics of bright late talkers (p.112):
a. Outstanding / precocious analytical or musical abilities.
b. Outstanding memories.
c. Strong wills.
d. Highly selective interests.
e. Delayed toilet training.
f. Precocious ability at reading/numbers/computers.
g. Disproportionate numbers of close relatives in occupations requiring analytical / mathematical/musical abilities.
h. Unusual concentration at their selected tasks.
6. The brain *really is* a black box, and there are different hypotheses about differential brain development that can explain a lot of late talking, as well as other diseases were development is very uneven. (The author makes some very apt comparisons to Williams syndrome.)
7. "Understanding and not speaking" is worlds apart from "neither speaking nor understanding." And the former turn out far better than the latter (p.146).
8. If you have a child in public school, you must be extremely judicious about evaluations that are done there. For the reason that: people who work there tend to be the bottom of the barrel in any intellectual sense of the word. The author does not directly say, but I would recommend ducking public schools all together if you can afford it.
Verdict: Recommended. This book has been a great time saver.
Our son understands things that are said to him, and he is able to follow instructions. We will leave this topic alone for another two or three years and pick it up only if he does not start proper speech by around 4. (p.146)
October 7, 2024
Very repetitive book based on two studies, one of which—the author’s—had an extremely small sample size of kids whose parents contacted him after reading a column he wrote in a newspaper. I wonder how much that group represented the population on a larger scale. A couple of interesting tidbits, but much of the book was dedicated to sweeping negative generalizations about teachers, speech language pathologists, early intervention programs, and people with autism. I need to look at more updated research.
July 5, 2019
This book is the sequel of sorts to the author's earlier work on late talking children, and like that book, I found this one spoke to my own personal experience, as the author has an empirical view of a certain set of children of whom I happen to have been one myself. Reading a book like this can be somewhat fascinating and more than a little bit strange, as one seeks that one's own personal experiences, which seemed to odd and strange when one was going through them, end up being part of a larger pattern that joins one to other people who share a narrow set of qualities and a particular set of experiences that separates one from the ordinary mass of humanity. The author manages to deal with an explosive subject in a way that establishes his own bona fides as someone who can speak with authority, and manages to give heavy criticism to those who have sought to distort his own insights and lashed out because their own interests have been threatened by an understanding of a particular group of children who defy the educational norms and who present difficulties to teachers who may not appreciate what they have to offer.
In a bit less than 200 pages, the author manages to discuss the issue of late-talking children as being part of a "syndrome" that is not negative although it has often been mislabeled as such by not particularly competent people who label such children as having a form of disability. The book begins with a preface and acknowledgments and then moves on to the patterns that can be found about late-talking children in both families as well as children, where children who are talented in both music as well as analytical/mathematical matters who possess excellent memories but who are late in speaking and whose social skills develop later than most (1). There is then a discussion of adults (2) and children (3) who talked late in history as well as in contemporary research, as well as a discussion of the way that children talking late in the contemporary world often leaves parents groping for answers in the hope that their children will not be labeled as disabled when they are clearly bright if often rather obstinate (4). The author then looks at tests and evaluations for bright but late-talking children (5) as well as the problems that "early intervention" can bring these children (6) and how people can cope with uncertainties while waiting for their children to talk (7). The end of the book consists of an epilogue, notes, appendix, and an index.
This book is part of a larger and necessary combination when it comes to the issue of giftedness and the tradeoffs that are inherent in the brain's workings. Since the brain has limited capacity and some aspect of scarcity about it, increasing skills in some areas (music, math, memory) entails trade-offs in other areas (delays in speaking and social development). Although the author is by no means an expert when it comes to child development, his insights on the brain are consistent with his views as an economist where trade-offs are always something to be kept in mind when one is dealing with reality as opposed to political rhetoric, and utilizing his economic mind in the subject of the development of intellect is quite worthwhile. Additionally, the author sensibly points out that intelligent children in general present problems for the contemporary educational system because they demand more intellectual stimulation than the generally incompetent level of elementary school teachers can provide and may even be smarter than their teachers. For those of us who fit the mold of this book, this book is both a comfort as well as an insight into the workings of the intelligent mind, and a reminder that increased abilities come with trade-offs that must be endured and overcome.
In a bit less than 200 pages, the author manages to discuss the issue of late-talking children as being part of a "syndrome" that is not negative although it has often been mislabeled as such by not particularly competent people who label such children as having a form of disability. The book begins with a preface and acknowledgments and then moves on to the patterns that can be found about late-talking children in both families as well as children, where children who are talented in both music as well as analytical/mathematical matters who possess excellent memories but who are late in speaking and whose social skills develop later than most (1). There is then a discussion of adults (2) and children (3) who talked late in history as well as in contemporary research, as well as a discussion of the way that children talking late in the contemporary world often leaves parents groping for answers in the hope that their children will not be labeled as disabled when they are clearly bright if often rather obstinate (4). The author then looks at tests and evaluations for bright but late-talking children (5) as well as the problems that "early intervention" can bring these children (6) and how people can cope with uncertainties while waiting for their children to talk (7). The end of the book consists of an epilogue, notes, appendix, and an index.
This book is part of a larger and necessary combination when it comes to the issue of giftedness and the tradeoffs that are inherent in the brain's workings. Since the brain has limited capacity and some aspect of scarcity about it, increasing skills in some areas (music, math, memory) entails trade-offs in other areas (delays in speaking and social development). Although the author is by no means an expert when it comes to child development, his insights on the brain are consistent with his views as an economist where trade-offs are always something to be kept in mind when one is dealing with reality as opposed to political rhetoric, and utilizing his economic mind in the subject of the development of intellect is quite worthwhile. Additionally, the author sensibly points out that intelligent children in general present problems for the contemporary educational system because they demand more intellectual stimulation than the generally incompetent level of elementary school teachers can provide and may even be smarter than their teachers. For those of us who fit the mold of this book, this book is both a comfort as well as an insight into the workings of the intelligent mind, and a reminder that increased abilities come with trade-offs that must be endured and overcome.
May 9, 2022
The book provides an opportunity to critically think about the diagnosis and early intervention of very young children. But the author keeps repeating strongly negative disparagements on speech therapists, but I wasn't sure they are substantiated; these arguments seem to be mostly based on anecdotal observations, not from systematic studies. Also it is difficult to not associate author's strongly negative position on early intervention with the fact that the author is politically liberal. Mostly the book is full of anecdotal evidences and speculations without scientific principled study, which are interesting and provides some food for thought but they shouldn't be confused as scientific evidence.
August 30, 2021
My two and a half year old son is a late talker. He's finally talking. I was a late talker, and the COVID nonsense has robbed him of social opportunities. The most important part of this book is really to give reassurance to parents. I am glad I read this book, as my son had almost all of the traits Sowell describes, and we were reluctant to take him in to so called experts for them to test and poke around on my beautiful loving boy. This book validated what we were experiencing, and my son was kept from such harm and starting talking almost immediately after I began reading it.
January 20, 2021
Highly recommend this book to parents or grandparents of a late talking child whom otherwise has no physical issues. I also highly recommend Dr Stephen Camarata's book "Late Talking Children: Stage or Symptom". Both are invaluable resources and guides to parents and grandparents dealing with a late talking child. Again, if you are in this category, the time and money invested in these 2 books will be well spent.
January 22, 2024
I owe Thomas Sowell a coffee, a hug & a debt of gratitude. His research gives me the words of experience for our oldest son. I'm so thankful to have read this & know we're joined by so many other families with brilliant, late talking children.
June 28, 2020
A very interesting book and one that has given me some comfort about my own late talking child.
As Sowell does make clear throughout the book, he isn't suggesting that every late talking child is going to be highly gifted/have what he has described as "Einstein syndrome" but similarly, not every child who talks late necessarily has something "wrong" with them and being "labelled" too soon can have negative consequences.
The section in the book about the brain was quite fascinating. It's clear that there is so much we don't yet truly understand about the brain and how it develops.
I don't know yet when my child will start talking properly. I will be seeking professional support and assessment as any concerned parent would. But as a parent of such a child I think it is useful to have a variety of perspectives on the issue, therefore I would recommend this book to parents in similar situations as a source of information on the subject to help in informing your own judgements alongside any professional judgements made about your child.
As Sowell does make clear throughout the book, he isn't suggesting that every late talking child is going to be highly gifted/have what he has described as "Einstein syndrome" but similarly, not every child who talks late necessarily has something "wrong" with them and being "labelled" too soon can have negative consequences.
The section in the book about the brain was quite fascinating. It's clear that there is so much we don't yet truly understand about the brain and how it develops.
I don't know yet when my child will start talking properly. I will be seeking professional support and assessment as any concerned parent would. But as a parent of such a child I think it is useful to have a variety of perspectives on the issue, therefore I would recommend this book to parents in similar situations as a source of information on the subject to help in informing your own judgements alongside any professional judgements made about your child.
February 19, 2022
People knocked this book because it did exactly what it set out to do--tell stories. Story after story after enough already story, of children who were unable or unwilling to talk until they were well past the age of concern. Most of the children seemed to be about three years old when their lack of talking worried parents so much that they showed up in his research, conducted very, very informally on people he found by word of mouth, best I could tell.
But he never said this was science, and even though he draws a lot of "conclusions" (aka associations) about the factors that seemed to precipitate the syndrome, you wouldn't dare to call it science.
People didn't like that he did what he said--told stories, drew a few associations, and left it as an interesting phenomenon that ought to be studied someday.
I liked it, though. Other than the tedium of reading the same story over and over again. I liked that it reminded me that people are different from each other and children even more so.
But he never said this was science, and even though he draws a lot of "conclusions" (aka associations) about the factors that seemed to precipitate the syndrome, you wouldn't dare to call it science.
People didn't like that he did what he said--told stories, drew a few associations, and left it as an interesting phenomenon that ought to be studied someday.
I liked it, though. Other than the tedium of reading the same story over and over again. I liked that it reminded me that people are different from each other and children even more so.
November 12, 2021
3.5 stars
Note to interested readers: this book was written to discuss children who do not fall in the autism spectrum but are late to talk. This is made clear by the author but many reviewers have given negative reviews because they claim he denies a diagnosis of autism, and this is not true.
This is a rather dry book that shares individual case studies of children and adults who were late to talk but did not fall in the ASD umbrella, and also shares the results of two studies, one performed by the author and another by a Camarata. There are summaries, breakdowns of the participants and general conclusions drawn.
Sadly, not much research seems to have been followed-up on since the publication of this book, but it still gave me peace of mind concerning my son.
Note to interested readers: this book was written to discuss children who do not fall in the autism spectrum but are late to talk. This is made clear by the author but many reviewers have given negative reviews because they claim he denies a diagnosis of autism, and this is not true.
This is a rather dry book that shares individual case studies of children and adults who were late to talk but did not fall in the ASD umbrella, and also shares the results of two studies, one performed by the author and another by a Camarata. There are summaries, breakdowns of the participants and general conclusions drawn.
Sadly, not much research seems to have been followed-up on since the publication of this book, but it still gave me peace of mind concerning my son.
October 20, 2024
Very anecdotal. I really was expecting something more fact based. This feels very dated by today’s standards, in particular with how narrow the understanding of autism is. The immense stigma leveled at having an autistic child is more understandable given when this book was written, but feels unhelpful to anyone navigating these conversations today. There are a few references to knowing the child doesn’t have autism because they are happy and social, which is a gross misunderstanding of the spectrum. The advice given is shallow, and the only worthwhile takeaway is get multiple peoples opinions on your child’s situation.
June 24, 2020
Sowell is a genius. He writes well and in an engaging style.
I don't know that I left the book with anything useful though. A name for a group of late talking children with high intelligence, some interesting anecdotes about them, and the feeling of wanting more --- some sort of conclusion or path forward.
I don't know that I left the book with anything useful though. A name for a group of late talking children with high intelligence, some interesting anecdotes about them, and the feeling of wanting more --- some sort of conclusion or path forward.
December 3, 2025
This book dispenses dangerous information about children who are late talkers. There is a small percentage of late talking children who may eventually develop language on their own. For the majority of late talkers, waiting and avoiding intervention will cause lingering issues with cognitive development,
August 13, 2018
This book made me feel so validated. It is slightly outdated now. I think some diagnoses have caught up to some of the points he was making about misdiagnosis, but overall still relevant for families dealing with such phenomena.
April 3, 2021
-His aggressiveness towards speech therapists and other low-level professionals is understandable, but very repetitive. One third of the book is pure rant.
-"Late-talking children" by Camarata is much more useful for the vast majority (probably even for everyone) and makes this book expendable.
-"Late-talking children" by Camarata is much more useful for the vast majority (probably even for everyone) and makes this book expendable.
Read
August 29, 2021Helpful if you have a special needs kid
July 3, 2024
I appreciated this book!
August 7, 2025
While the studies were probably biased and a lot of the evidence was anecdotal, it was still so heartening to read. I wish I could have read this when I was a young mom panicking about their child not talking and hearing all sorts of labels that couldn’t have been more wrong.
In other words, I love books that reinforce what I already know: that my children are geniuses.
In other words, I love books that reinforce what I already know: that my children are geniuses.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews