Heather S. reviewed A Field Guide to Earthlings: An autistic/Asperger view of neurotypical behavior on + 18 more book reviews
A Field Guide to Earthlings: An Autistic/Asperger View of Neurotypical Behavior by Ian Ford is basically what the title implies a guide for people on the autism spectrum about non-autistic people, referred to as neurotypicals (NT), and why NTs behave the way they do.
First off, this book is written from the view point of someone on the autism spectrum for other people on the spectrum. I have not seen a book that was written like this before for people with autism/Aspergers and I think it is a great idea! The author, Ian Ford, is a self-identified autistic who is trying to understand the world of NTs and wants to help other autistic people to understand that world also. This book is not written for neurotypicals. In fact, NTs might find the layout of this book a little strange but for folks on the spectrum, I think that they will find the layout and the information quite compelling.
Mr. Ford covers all aspects of patterns of NT behavior such as: perception, communication, feelings, and relationships. Running throughout the book is a script where Mr. Ford has characters that act out scenes from a family who is having a wedding and incorporates what is happening in those scenes in his explanations of NT behaviors. Mr. Ford tries not to judge NTs behaviors, but strives to put them in a context that a person on the spectrum would understand.
As I noted above, the audience for this book is for those on the autism spectrum. For them, I give it 5 stars. For NTs, though, I would give it 3 stars. This book, though, is for an adult audience since it has some language and sexual content in it. It would be really beneficial if a book such as this came out that was appropriate for children, perhaps with the scenes happening in a school setting. A lot of kids would benefit from this as they strive to understand the world around them.
Mr. Ford does not advocate that the autistic person change so that they mimic NT behaviors so they can fit in. Instead he encourages the autistic person to remain authentic and that [t]he acting skills that you might learn to mask autism can be irrelevant or harmful to the process of self-discovery.
First off, this book is written from the view point of someone on the autism spectrum for other people on the spectrum. I have not seen a book that was written like this before for people with autism/Aspergers and I think it is a great idea! The author, Ian Ford, is a self-identified autistic who is trying to understand the world of NTs and wants to help other autistic people to understand that world also. This book is not written for neurotypicals. In fact, NTs might find the layout of this book a little strange but for folks on the spectrum, I think that they will find the layout and the information quite compelling.
Mr. Ford covers all aspects of patterns of NT behavior such as: perception, communication, feelings, and relationships. Running throughout the book is a script where Mr. Ford has characters that act out scenes from a family who is having a wedding and incorporates what is happening in those scenes in his explanations of NT behaviors. Mr. Ford tries not to judge NTs behaviors, but strives to put them in a context that a person on the spectrum would understand.
As I noted above, the audience for this book is for those on the autism spectrum. For them, I give it 5 stars. For NTs, though, I would give it 3 stars. This book, though, is for an adult audience since it has some language and sexual content in it. It would be really beneficial if a book such as this came out that was appropriate for children, perhaps with the scenes happening in a school setting. A lot of kids would benefit from this as they strive to understand the world around them.
Mr. Ford does not advocate that the autistic person change so that they mimic NT behaviors so they can fit in. Instead he encourages the autistic person to remain authentic and that [t]he acting skills that you might learn to mask autism can be irrelevant or harmful to the process of self-discovery.
