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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Opinion /

Reviews

Exploring the intersection of autism and the arts.

Previous articles
January 2016

‘In a Different Key’ presents symphony of autism’s history

by  /  19 January 2016

Journalists John Donvan and Caren Zucker detail autism’s transformation from a diagnosis shrouded in shame to an increasingly accepted, even celebrated, condition.

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August 2015

Book review: “Neurotribes” recovers lost history of autism

by  /  25 August 2015

Steve Silberman’s new book, “Neurotribes,” recounts his 15-year quest to understand “the legacy of autism.”

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February 2015

A curious experience

by  /  10 February 2015

The acclaimed Broadway play “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” gives theatergoers dazzling insight into one boy’s unusual experience of the world.

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November 2013

Book review: Meet one person with autism

by  /  15 November 2013

Taken at face value, a new translated memoir by a child with severe autism suggests that our official consensus needs a rethink, writes clinical psychologist William Mandy.
 

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February 2012

Documentary review: ‘Le Mur’ (‘The Wall’)

by  /  28 February 2012

The French documentary Le Mur (The Wall) shows that many psychoanalysts in France shun biological explanations for autism.

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January 2012

Book review: Autism’s twisted immune links, untangled

by  /  2 January 2012

Research on the immune system’s link to autism and other psychiatric disorders is rich and varied — from massive epidemiological studies of twins and pregnant women, to the screening of immune molecules in amniotic fluid and postmortem studies of brain inflammation. In his new book, Paul Patterson lays out this complicated work clearly and concisely, with little editorializing.

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October 2011

Theater review: The lion roars, quietly

by  /  7 October 2011

A special performance on Sunday of The Lion King created a comfortable environment for children with autism and their families to enjoy the theater.

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May 2011

Documentary review: ‘Wretches and Jabberers’

by  /  10 May 2011

A new documentary blasts misperceptions about nonverbal people with autism, showing that they are capable of intelligence, wit and empathy even as their disorder chains them “like a beast.”

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March 2011

Art therapy

by  /  15 March 2011

The suggestion that some people with autism might be creative or artistic surprises us. It shouldn’t.

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December 2010

Deluded

by  /  29 December 2010

In her new book, Cordelia Fine argues that the brain is sexed by society, not by biology. But by quoting only studies that support her perspective, she abandons objectivity for polemic.

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