What is the worst book about AS or autism that you have read? Why was it so bad?
Does anyone think the AFF should have an annual award for the piece of writing (book, article, whatever) that demonstrates the worst prejudice towards or lack of understanding of AS?
One piece on the TACA site that compared autism to cancer was particularly annoying, but theres so many to choose from.
If so, there should be an award for the best one too.
Good idea, maybe we could make nominations for various relevant issues and send an "award" to whoever.
Best writing on autism
Worst writing on autism
This years hero of autism?
This years enemy of autism?
any more ideas?
When I first started researching this on the web, nearly everything I came across was universally abysmal! I didn't note any of the names of the quacks I encountered, and haven't seen them since, come to that, so maybe it was a short lived fling?
I suspect the very negativity of those early sites would have put off any potential customers.
It was a hard choice to make but these are the worst books about AS that I have read:
Loving Mr Spock : a different kind of love by Barbara Jacobs
How someone could be in an intimate relationship with a person and still understand absolutely nothing about that person is a mystery to me.
Autism - Asperger's and Sexuality: Puberty and Beyond by Jerry Newport, Mary Newport, Teresa Bolick
I didn't know that you could string together a bunch of tasteless cliches and call it a book.
I think I've heard of that book, is it the one that gives scant mention to gay, lesbian and bi aspies, despite there being a large part of the community?
I've got to be honest, I didn't read all of the book on AS and sexuality. I looked at a couple of chapters and thought "Oh, this is so bad", so I returned it to the library partly read. There are so many worthwhile books to read, so I don't waste time on duds. I don't recall any mention of non-heterosexual orientations in that book, and that would be a major oversight if those topics were not covered.
What I do recall of that book were lots of tips on how to adapt/conform to NT society, all of them pretty obvious to me, and very cliched and general "wisdom" that anyone could pick up from watching a lot of lowbrow American sitcoms.
I had imagined that the book might cover topics such as sensory difference and sex, are autistic people physiologically or anatomically different, asexuality and other orientations, but the book didn't seem to be informed by any scientific research.
From what I've seen of Jerry Newport's writings on other autistic forums, I'm not surprised the book would be far from good. There is a real need for good books about autism and sexuality but not for ones that tell us simply to pick up the worst values of NT society.
I wondered about that myself.
I thought Liane Holliday Willey's book "Pretending to Be Normal" was pretty bad.
She projected this attitude that seemed like she wanted the whole world to revolve around her and her daughter. She spoke as though she thought that everyone else should learn about Asperger's so they could better accomodate her and her daughter. There are a million diseases and disorders in the world, and the world is accomodating to almost none of them. Sure, it sucks for those of us who have those disorders, but it's our job to figure out a way to make it through this world, not the job of the world to figure out how to make it easier for us. I don't see her learning about other disorders and saying the public should be educated about them.
One of my biggest beefs with the book was that she suggested that people with Asperger's should be given "handicapped" parking passes (don't know if you have those in the UK) because lots of Aspies (including myself) are really bad at directions and finding their car in a parking lot. I think that's definitely overkill. There are ways to overcome that. Make sure you buy a car that's a stand-out or unusual color. Put little things on the car antenna that you can see from far away. Carry a notepad with you and write down or draw a map to where you're parked (that's what I do, but with a PDA instead). With a handicapped tag, you're taking spots away from people in wheelchairs, people who have no legs, all that sort of thing. Those people have no way to "work around" their disability. They're screwed pretty much if a handicapped spot isn't available.
I agree that giving aspies "handicapped" parking passes is overkill and takes the space away from those that really need it more than us. One thing that helps me is the bumper stickers I have on the back window of my car, plus the fact that the kind of car I have isn't made anymore.
I agree in part with this critique but think there should be more vocational programmes, employment agencies and affirmative action for Aspies (as there is for other minority groups in society).
Good idea, maybe we could make nominations for various relevant issues and send an "award" to whoever.
Best writing on autism
Worst writing on autism
This years hero of autism?
This years enemy of autism?
any more ideas?
Best autistic protagonist in a novel or movie or story (Must be representated as autistic rather than "they have some traits to my eyes")
probaly that book is by faas i think it was called is anyboy listening.
There was a book where they talked in all kinds of glowing cliches about how loving it was for a family to beat a child whenever she did anything that looked "autistic". I'm not sure it's in print anymore though, so might not be worth criticizing overly much anyway.