Curious Incident?

[conuly]

Remember that book? That lovely piece of fiction? Written by somebody who is not autistic?

Yeah, that.

It isn't a good reference material. For anybody. Because the person writing the book lacked any sort of personal experience with autism. And it's fiction. FICTION.

There are scads of autistic authors out there. Some of them are quite well-known. (And, to head off this argument, if you want to know how autistic people think, you really would want to read works by more than one autistic person, because not all autistics think the same way.)

Now, go forth and educate yourself.

Thank you.

Comments

[ex-chaos-by-699.livejournal.com]

I haven't read that book yet, but I've gotten very mixed reviews of it, even from the autistic community. Some autistics do seem to really like it and think it describes them well, others not so much. It seems like he might have accurately described a subtype of autism at least, but since it is fiction and written by a non-expert, it obviously shouldn't be taken as gospel.

I have read both professional literature and books written by autistics themselves though, and I'd agree that if you want to understand autism, it's best to read something by an actual autistic person. And I'll also agree that it's good to read different authors, since autistic people differ as much from each other as non-autistic people do.

[leora.livejournal.com]

I found it a fun book. Although I listened to it in an audiobook format and really liked the way it was read. Unless you're legally blind or print disabled, you probably cannot get it read that way.

After I finished it, I was really curious how well people thought it actually represented autism, and couldn't find much in the way of answers. But I hope it's a bad fit, because the main character isn't at all likable. Well, he is, at first. But as it progresses, he becomes less and less likable. And I don't want to think of people I know on the spectrum as being like him. Fortunately, I don't.

I think it was intended to create a greater acceptance and sympathy for the autistic. To help NTs realize that their behaviors aren't bad, just different. But it completely fails by making the main character completely and utterly self-absorbed and selfish.

[zannechaos.livejournal.com]

Unless you're legally blind or print disabled, you probably cannot get it read that way.

Just out of curiosity, I'm wondering what you meant. Is the audiobook format only available by special order to those who are blind/print-disabled? Do you have to go through a doctor to get a prescrition in order to get it?

Or are you saying that someone has to be blind/print-disabled in order to enjoy and appreciate audiobooks?

Because I know a good number of people with perfectly decent vision, who read print books by the dozens, and love audiobooks and oftentimes listen to them while walking or on long commutes.

I can't, for obvious reasons, being deaf, but still... I've been sitting here trying to figure out what exactly you meant there.

[leora.livejournal.com]

The version I listened to came from the US Library of Congress collection of audiobooks for the legally blind and print disabled. They make their own audiobooks, with their own readers, that violate copyright given the legal exception for such things, but that can only be used by the blind and print disabled. You need signed paperwork to get into the program and borrow the audiobooks.

I have no idea how similar or different any other audiobook version of the book may be. Perhaps sometimes it is the same, but it could be done by someone completely different, and my guess is it is. So, you can't listen to the version I heard unless you're in the program (and can hear).