''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
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
, India, and
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
. 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 disorder
Developmental disorders comprise a group of psychiatric conditions originating in childhood that involve serious impairment in different areas. There are several ways of using this term. The most narrow concept is used in the category "Specific Di ...
s and
disabilities.
He also provides information on the medical anthropology of the disorder itself and the reliability and validity of the psychological construction that is autism.
The title comes from an untitled poem by
E.E. Cummings in which he criticized his society's need for conformity.
References
External links
What's behind the 'autism epidemic'?
2007 non-fiction books
Health and wellness books
Books about autism
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