NeuroTribes: The Untold History of Austim and the Potential of Neurodiversity

by Steve Silberman

clinical accounts of Asperger’s syndrome tended to reframe neutral or even positive aspects of behavior as manifestations of deficit and impairment.

Neurodiversity advocates propose that instead of viewing this gift as an error of nature—a puzzle to be solved and eliminated with techniques like prenatal testing and selective abortion—society should regard it as a valuable part of humanity’s genetic legacy while ameliorating the aspects of autism that can be profoundly disabling without adequate forms of support.

people on the spectrum experience the neurotypical world as relentlessly unpredictable and chaotic, perpetually turned up too loud, and full of people who have little respect for personal space.