Autism and Us: Old as Time - by Eustacia Cutler (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Autism
is old and unruly. It's been a part of us since we first left handprints on
cave walls 40,000 year--s ago. AUTISM AND US covers a long-stretch
view of its neurological history and how society has judged it. With
quotes from old medical records, folk-tale beliefs, and Victorian literature,
the book conjures up the 19^th century- mix of ignorance, cruelty,
fumbling knowledge, and surprising love that led to the first medical
recognition of autism as a social disorder. From that medically significant
recognition has grown our present day neurological and cognitive
understanding.

Eustacia
Cutler, autism expert and mother of Temple Grandin, delivers a colorful and
reliable account of the pioneers it has taken for autism to gain understanding
and acceptance in families, neighborhoods, schools and job markets.

Review Quotes

Exceptionally well written for the benefit of both
medical, psychological, educational professionals, as well as parents and the
non-specialist general reader with an interest in the history and nature of
autism, Autism and Us: Old As Time is impressively informative and
thoroughly 'reader friendly' in both organization and presentation. It is
especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community
and university libraries, as well as collections for parenting disabled children.

Editorial Note: Eustacia Curler's research on autism and
retardation created the script for two WGBH television documentaries: The
Disquieted and The Innocents. Her book, A Thorn in My Pocket
(2006), describes raising her autistic daughter, Temple Grandin, in the
conservative world of the '50s when autistic children were routinely diagnosed
as infant schizophrenics and banished to institutions.

Susan Bethany
Midwest
Book Review/September 2022