Unstrange Minds
Encyclopedia
Unstrange Minds is a nonfiction book by anthropologist Roy Richard Grinker
about the rise in autism
diagnoses throughout the world over the last twenty years. It provides a cultural history of autism and describes the experiences of parents of children with autism in the United States, South Korea, India, and South Africa. Along with this, Grinker includes his own personal experiences with his autistic daughter, Isabel. Grinker argues that there is no autism epidemic but that the higher prevalence rates are a sign of progress in treating and educating children with developmental disorders and disabilities.
The title comes from an untitled poem by E.E. Cummings in which he criticized his society's need for conformity.
Roy Richard Grinker
Roy Richard Grinker is an author and Professor of Anthropology, International Affairs, and Human Sciences at The George Washington University.Grinker is an authority on North and South Korean relations...
about the rise in autism
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
diagnoses throughout the world over the last twenty years. It provides a cultural history of autism and describes the experiences of parents of children with autism in the United States, South Korea, India, and South Africa. Along with this, Grinker includes his own personal experiences with his autistic daughter, Isabel. Grinker argues that there is no autism epidemic but that the higher prevalence rates are a sign of progress in treating and educating children with developmental disorders and disabilities.
- "The newer, higher, more accurate statistics on autism are a sign that we are finally seeing and appreciating a kind of human difference that we once turned away from and that many other cultures still hide away in homes or institutions or denigrate as bizarre" (p.5).
The title comes from an untitled poem by E.E. Cummings in which he criticized his society's need for conformity.