A different kind of brain
I find this article in The New York Times (registration required) about a severely autistic teenager who can express himself through writing, if by few other means, fascinating. His mother basically took it upon herself to teach him, using a very labor-intensive method, with amazing results. The young man writes poetry, and is able to explain to doctors what it feels like to be inside his body. This is apparently the first time a severely autistic person has been able to explain what it’s like to be autistic. And what the doctors are finding out is spellbinding. Tito, the young man in question, apparently feels disconnected from his body unless it’s actually doing something. And he can only concentrate on one sense at a time. And his mother, whose techniques have apparently helped her son so much, is now teaching other severely autistic children as well.
Posted at 9:56 PM
This isn’t entirely true. There was a woman years ago who wrote prose about what it was like to be autistic. Her name was Donna Williams and her book was called Nobody, Nowhere. However, the fact that the mother has been able to develop a teaching technique that works, woohoo. Incredible. :)
Posted by tara at 8:39 PM, November 20, 2002 [Link]