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The Way I See It: A Personal Look at Autism and Asperger's  | 
 enlarge | Author: Temple Grandin
Publisher: Future Horizons
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $10.17
You Save: $4.78 (32%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 32696
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 260
ISBN: 1932565728
Dewey Decimal Number: 649
EAN: 9781932565720
ASIN: 1932565728
Publication Date: September 1, 2008 (In 2 Days)
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
In this innovative book, Dr. Temple Grandin gets down to the REAL issues of autism, the ones parents, teachers, and individuals on the spectrum face every day. Temple offers helpful do's and don'ts, practical strategies, and try-it-now tips, all based on her "insider" perspective and a great deal of research. These are just some of the specific topics Temple delves into:
How and Why People with Autism Think Differently
Economical Early Intervention Programs that Work
How Sensory Sensitivities Affect Learning
Behaviors Caused by a Disability vs. Just Bad Behaviors
Teaching People with Autism to Live in an Unpredictable World
Alternative Medicine vs. Conventional Medicine
Employment Ideas for Adults with Autism
And many more!
PLUS an exclusive interview between world-renowned psychologist Dr. Tony Attwood and Temple Grandin!
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| Customer Reviews:
 Too much emphasis on technical matters and success; kind of generalised August 29, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
A big plus for most readers today is that this book is easy to read. I finished it in just a few hours. The writing is perfectly at level for most reading audiences. I also think that parents of Autistic children and those with Aspgergers are going to like this book. It appears to be helpful for parents, especially. Now, for all of the praise I just heaped, I am going to come up with a few points I didn't like about the book, and I will list them here, along with brief explanations. I do not mean any disrespect against the author or people in the Autistic spectrum, as I have always thought I was a bit on the mild Asperger spectrum mystelf, but I am just being honest; the following could even hurt my reputation as a Vine reviewer, but I really need to be sincere about my review:
First of all, the author seems to emphasise eating meat a lot in one section of the book that mentions nutrition. Especially beef. Is it a coincidence that the author used to work for a meat company and still deals with the cattle business? As a vegetarian (for most of my life), I found this offensive. It is much more harmful, considering that it is now known that eating meat can contribute to Alzheimer's, as well as for those who have spiritual reasons for not eating meat, to constantly read this. Throughout the book I found references to the meat plant, meat industry several times. I also find it strange because, I for one, have always thought I may be slightly on the mild Asperger's spectrum, yet I have a very high empathy for animals, all animals. I truly love animals with all my heart.
Another point I did not like was that there was such an emphasis in the book about people in the Autistic and Asperger's spectrum and "technicality," as well as too much emphasis on finding a "good" job which, according to the author, can only be found in technical vocations. Well, the truth is, not all people like technical stuff. I have a poor visual processing deficit, according to testing I had in college, which means that I was also bad at algebra (like the author), but I also never excelled in any technical classes. I don't like technical things. I enjoy literature, poetry, writing, art, music, and am adept at all of these (I can play seven instruments for example and am a classically-trained pianist), which is just one of my talents, but I am terrible when it comes to technical things and find them very boring. I also could not sell my soul to make money. On the other hand, my husband, who is also sort of Asperger-like (a true Techie in all ways) is very good at technical things, but he never got a college degree due to problems at home that took up his time (things I don't want to mention in detail), so it's not nice to tell people they need to succeed when those people haven't been given the same equal opportunities in life.
I also found it odd that the author thinks that only people in this spectrum need a balance between hobbies and life. Well, I thought that was applicable to anyone, even the neurotypicals ("normal" people, that is). Most people need to have something in life other than a work identity, that is just human nature, and very essential to spiritual growth in general. This is not just applicable to those in the Autistic or Asperger's spectrum. I know that some people, even neurotypicals, are fed-up with materialism and need an identity other than work.
Also, there is a very strong emphasis in this book on male thinking. While I consider myself able to think in both a "female" and "male" way, the male way of thinking isn't always that great. It has many bad points. And sure, Einstein was a genius, but his genius brought a lot of suffering as well. We would have been better off without atomic bombs. And not all geniuses were "male" oriented. Many many countless poets, artists, and musicians have contributed to our societies with their rich visions of the ephemeral that "male" ways of seeing cannot provide. What about the mystery of the beautiful and the sublime? It seems there is just so much emphasis in this book about technical matters, success, power, and no empathy for animals. I thought the author was very good with animals, why no empathy for the poor cattle who get slaughtered?
The author also has a concern with violence. Well, sure, but where does that violence come from? It comes from a mostly "male-thinking" society where empathy isn't regarded highly, and "success" and competition are the way of life, which means suffering for many others. I do not think that sensitive people like Autistics and Aspies should have to become like this. This is just very cold. And again, I may have a mild form of Aspergers myself, but I have a very balanced male/female mind. Not all of us think in such black and white ways.
I would only recommend this book for people who need advice with their children with these disorders, but otherwise, there are many points, as you can tell, that I disagree with -- and I usually don't get this upset regarding a Vine review, so I'm telling it like it is.
Good collection of articles on many aspects of autism August 28, 2008
This book is by an author who has dealt with her own experience of coping with autism as well as drawn upon the experiences and observations of many others, making this an insightful collection of articles about autism. The book addresses the cognitive and emotional aspects of those with ASD, describing how they interact with their social environment. Sensory integration issues are discussed as well as conventional and alternative medicine treatments. There are many good ideas here for helping autistic persons enhance their lives and functioning. Whether you are a family member, educator, therapist, or person coping with ASD issues for yourself, this book is worth exploring. The only area in which I would have wanted to see more info or discussion was advances with natural healing approaches (e.g., probiotics, enzymes, energy medicine, etc.) and discussion of vaccines and other environmental hazards as autism triggers. For that area I recommend Stephanie Marohn's book about treating Autism.
 Common sense isn't -- but Temple Grandin has it August 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is, for the most part, a compilation of Grandin's articles from Autism Asperger's Digest. That makes it uniquely easy to read and access just the parts that are relevant to parental or educator questions of the moment.
But it is Grandin, too, that makes reading this simple. She doesn't try to address more than a tired brain can wrap around at one time. Her voice is calm and matter-of-fact, not overly scholarly. It's a book that can be handed to anyone to help them understand autism spectrum disorders better. It will help them understand that people on the spectrum have magnificent strengths as well as challenges; that they are capable of shouldering personal and societal responsibility, with help and mentoring -- just like anybody else.
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