Roy Richard Grinker (1) (1961–)

I think this book is an important look into the cultural causes of stigma, but I found the book to be lacking in a clearly expressed central thesis. As I read this book (and even now that I've finished reading it), I felt that I would be unable to give an answer to anybody who asked me "so what's that book about?" Which is a shame, because I think the ideas in this book are important.

An interesting history of the diagnostics of autism and autism-spectrum disorders, as well as a survey of perceptions in different countries.

Cogently pulled together a lot of threads of autism theory without joining one camp or the other. Was interesting to learn about autism from an anthropological pov. & since we're from the same neck of the woods, I appreciated the personal narrative he sprinkled throughout the book. I feel I've run across some of the same characters and am gearing up for the same battles with the school system. I wish I had read this book first and avoided a lot of others!