Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robison: B-
A funny and interesting memoir of a man who struggled to find his place in the world while suffering from Asperger's Syndrome. Needless to say, with a son who has AS, the book hits home with me. I found myself questioning some of the stories of Robison's youth. The seem a little bit too far fetched and "out there", particularly knowing what I know of my son. It is comforting to see someone with this type of high functioning autism come through it all and find himself. Gives me hope for Nate.
I am a little concerned that all the attention given to Asperger's focuses on the savant-like qualities of people like Robison and Temple Grandin. Nate, while very intelligent anda gifted musically, does not show aspects of this specific-genius. Not to knock him at all, but call a spade a spade. Though I do wonder what he can accomplish in music when he gets a chance to really branch out.
the two most revealing things form the bokk, for me, where the discussion of Robison's and Aspergian's-in-General voice patterns, and the ability of Robison to do complex designs in engeneering without being able to do math. Nate catches a lot of flack about his very unique voice pattern, and I think it will be good for him to read that he is not alone in this situation. Nate recently won his school region in boy's solo, but missed out on All State Chorus. He struggles with the technical aspects of music while being able to assimilate them into his vocal performances much easier. The parralel with Robison was interesting.
Anyway, it is a fun read for those affected by Asperger's and those who are not. Robison is a decent writer and an odd dude, so it works to create some interesting insight into a person living along the Autistic spectrum.
