Autism: Explaining the Enigma - Softcover

"This highly readable book provides a history of autism – one of the most perplexing of mental conditions – along with an account of the latest research and theory of the condition ... Autistic people do not try to understand others by suppsing that they act as they do because they have certain wants and beliefs ... What others do and even what thay do themselves remain something of mystery to them. The book does an outstanding job in helping the reader to appreciate the unexpected consequences of this unusual deficiency. Indeed the final merit of the book lies in the clear picture it presents of the autictic person." Professor David Premack, University of Pennsylvania.

The key problem, according to Uta Frith is an inability to integrate pieces of information into coherent wholes, an ability to make sense particularly of the mind′s own activities, thoughts, beliefs and feelings. From this beginning, the language, social and emotional problems all follow as the complex interactions of human development unfold. Some puzzles remain, but the reader will leave this book with the feeling that he or she is no longer floundering.