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The Story of Autism: How We Got Here, How We Heal by Tao Lin ~dacten-sidlyn • by ~bidbel

marsreview.org · 9,908 words · saved by 1 readers

NOTE: For best reading, open the Endnotes in another tab. This essay's references, given in parentheses throughout, are listed there. A NEW DISORDER In the 1940s, Leo Kanner in the U.S. and Hans Asperger in Austria identified a new disorder in young children, different from “childhood schizophrenia” and “feeblemindedness.” These kids were very “autistic,” an adjective previously used in schizophrenia, meaning self-focused and -isolating, but unlike the insane they appeared to be affected since birth and didn’t have hallucinations, and unlike the mentally retarded they ranged in IQ and had “strikingly intelligent physiognomies.” They seemed unwilling to interact with people. During social interaction, they looked preoccupied and inaccessible. Their facial expressions were blank or tense and troubled, and they used little to no gestures. They had “odd” eye gazes, not looking at eyes or faces. It was hard to get and sustain their attention. Many were suspected to have hearing problems, bu

Issue 2 The Story of Autism: How We Got Here, How We Heal by Tao Lin Tao Lin Sep 20, 2022 214 29 39 Share This essay appears in Issue 2 of the Mars Review of Books . Visit the MRB store here . Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity by Steve Silberman Avery, 560 pp., $15.99 Toxic Legacy: How the Weedkiller Glyphosate Is Destroying Our Health and the Environment by Stephanie Seneff Chelsea Green Publishing, 272 pp., $20.00 A NEW DISORDER In the 1940s, Leo Kanner in the U.S. and Hans Asperger in Austria identified a new disorder in young children, different from “child

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