A History of Autism: Conversations with the Pioneers - Paperback

by Adam Feinstein (Author)

This unique book is the first to fully explore the history of autism - from the first descriptions of autistic-type behaviour to the present day.

• Features in-depth discussions with leading professionals and pioneers to provide an unprecedented insight into the historical changes in the perception of autism and approaches to it
• Presents carefully chosen case studies and the latest findings in the field
• Includes evidence from many previously unpublished documents and illustrations
• Interviews with parents of autistic children acknowledge the important contribution they have made to a more profound understanding of this enigmatic condition

Back Jacket

This book explores the history of autism from the first descriptions of autistic-type behavior to the present day. Through unprecedented interviews with many of the earliest pioneers in the field, and leading professionals working today across the world?including China, India, Russia and Latin America?A History of Autism casts fresh light on the way in which this disorder is, and has been, perceived and treated.

Meticulously researched, the book draws on evidence from previously unpublished documents, as well as the latest findings and case studies. In addition, interviews with parents of autistic children confirm the essential contribution they have made to a more profound understanding of this enigmatic condition.

Author Biography

Adam Feinstein is the editor of two autism-related websites, AutismConnect (www.autismconnect.org.uk) and Awares (www.awares.org), both run by Autism Cymru, Wales's national charity for autism. He also runs the acclaimed annual Awares international online autism conference. He writes extensively on autism for a range of publications, including The Guardian, broadcasts for the BBC, and gives talks at conferences around the world. He is the founder and editor of Looking Up, the monthly international autism newsletter (www.lookingupautism.org), and has contributed to the UK Medical Research Council's Autism Review. His much praised biography of the Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda: A Passion for Life, was published in 2004. He has a son with autism.