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Autism: Explaining the Enigma (Paperback)

by Uta Frith (Author) "She was so pretty - hazel eyes with long curling eyelashes and finely tapered eyebrows, flaxen colored curls and such a sweet, far-away expression; I..." (more)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 216 pages
  • Publisher: WileyBlackwell (3 Aug 1990)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0631168249
  • ISBN-13: 978-0631168249
  • Product Dimensions: 22.8 x 15.3 x 1.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 150,142 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  • See Complete Table of Contents

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Review

Here, Frith presents her own, reportedly new, theory of childhood autism that may explain the variety of behaviors associated with this baffling disorder. A London research scientist, Frith contends that statistical, biological, and psychological evidence leads to her theory that autism is a mental development disorder that somehow prevents the brain's "central cohesive force" from processing sensory information into cause and effect, into feasible conclusions that lead to sensible behavorial responses. Autism is not produced by inadequate parenting, Frith argues, but very likely by a host of causes, any one of which damages and disrupts the (still-undetermined) sensory-processing area of the brain. Casual factors may be genetic inheritence, prenatal or perinatal oxygen deficiency, viral infections, etc. Because the pertinent brain system is frequently widely damaged, retardation often complicates autism. Handicapped at processing random sensory stimulation, autistic children and adults have difficulty comprehending and using proper verbal and nonverbal communication; they lack "common sense" and frequently fail back on obsessively repetitive or "robotic" behavior. Even so, because they tend to concentrate on the immutable, autistics frequently exhibit extra-ordinary "islands of ability": total recall of facts, unusual mathematical or artistic skills, etc. Replete with findings from past and ongoing scientific research, as well as with historical and literary references to autism: of interest to anyone - family member or professional - involved in caring for an autistic. (Kirkus Reviews)


Library Journal, July 2003

Valuable for educated parents interested in learning about autism in a larger historical context. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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"She was so pretty - hazel eyes with long curling eyelashes and finely tapered eyebrows, flaxen colored curls and such a sweet, far-away expression; I hoped against hope that all would eventually go well, and that she was just a slow starter." Read the first page
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Autism, 3 Mar 2009
By A. H. Hay (Nottingham, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Autism: Explaining the Enigma (Cognitive Development) (Paperback)
Since my son was diagnosed with autism, I have sought to learn all that I could about the disorder. There are many excellent books that provide essential guidance and explanations for parents and carers confronting autism for the first time, such as Chantal Sicile-Kira's Autism Spectrum Disorders The Complete Guide. These books generally enhance one's knowledge without necessarily developing one's understanding and so enabling better empathy with the subject. This book achieves that. Uta Frith builds each aspect through historical notes and clear descriptions of experiments that illustrate clearly the point being put across. The book can become quite absorbing at stages and I could see my son described so clearly and so accurately that that particular section could have been written about him. It has certainly enhanced my understanding of how my son perceives the world and subtly effected how I now communicate with him. I think for the better. I recommend this book to anyone who seeks to better understand how an autistic person perceives the world. Quite superb.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The prospect of understanding, 22 Jan 2009
By Jon Chambers (Birmingham, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
This review is from: Autism: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) (Paperback)
Mysterious, traumatic, fascinating ... autism is all of these things. Uta Frith sheds welcome light upon a phenomenon which keeps getting bigger year on year but which remains elusive and enigmatic. Many of the questions we might want to ask are dealt with as fully as current understanding allows: What is autism? Why does it affect boys disproportionately? Why does it show in the second year of infancy and not the first? What are the classic indicators of autism? etc.

Frith briefly considers the (short) history of autism as a recognised and well-defined condition. She notes that it has core features (minimal social interaction, communication problems and limited interests coupled with repetitive behaviour). An individual's condition might be anything from slight to severe, which is why it is appropriate to talk of an Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), along which continuum sits the rather trendy, genius-inducing Asperger's Syndrome, familiar to millions via Rainman and The Curious Incident of the Dog.

The book is forthright. It runs the risk of offending some sensibilities by preferring to be more honest than p.c. Frith uses the frank language of mental 'deficits', behavioural 'impairment' and autism 'sufferers'. Although there are triumphs, she argues, there are more usually difficulties. Although many autistic individuals can achieve acceptance and find happiness, 'this is not the norm': social impairment is. Carers, meanwhile, face anxiety, frustration and upset. Frith is clear that autism amounts to more than just 'differences' in behaviour and mental make-up.

Although this book is bang up to date, at times speculating about some of the most fruitful current research and intriguing theories, it is being written at too early a date for many of the more vexing questions to be resolved, certainly in terms of the 'hard' science of autistic brains and genes. But we sense that if further experiments confirm promising theories, a true understanding may not be that far away.

Like so many others in this VSI series, Autism manages to be concise, profound and accessible - even to the non-specialist.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Full of Very Informative and Easy to Understand Explanations!, 20 Aug 2009
This review is from: Autism: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) (Paperback)
Quite embarrassingly, I didn't know so much about autism itself before I dealt with this tremendous guide. Although it doesn't have so many pages, I found it very informative and useful. Especially, I'm intrigued by Dr. Frith's explanations on the follows:
1. What neurotypical means
2. Weak central coherence
I wasn't quite sure what the prefix, neuro- means though neurotypical (NT) is one of the key words on autism/Asperger's. Sure thing, I couldn't find the word even in my dictionary. I mean, I could manage to guess it might mean the opposite to people with developmental impairments. However, I didn't quite catch why. I felt like I could clear up my haze when I found out Dr. Frith says neuro- definitely means the brain. "I guessed right! Neurotypical shows the brain works normally or typically." - That's what I exactly thought!

I realized central coherence is crucial for neurodevelopment. People with strong central coherence can see the whole point, while those with weak one tend to dwell on parts. So I suppose some autistic people have such weak central coherence that they tend to be perfectionists, which makes life more stressful. Positively, they seem to know the details pretty well. In my case, I was incredibly good at kanji (Chinese characters) in my childhood. But the trouble was that I was horrible at comprehending the whole sentence. And I suspected that slowed communication skills. The thing is people with weak central coherence find it so hard to catch the whole content they often tend to miss what matters most.

Overall, this autism guide is suitable if you would like to know the difference between NT's and people with autism/Asperger's with regard to neurodevelopmental psychology.
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