Date of Review:

Published Work:

Look Me in the Eye

Reviewer:

Tara Parker Pope

Source:

New York Times

Review Excerpt:

By most standards, John Elder Robison has led an interesting life. He created smoking guitars and other special effects for the rock band Kiss, worked on video games for a toy company and was featured in a best-selling memoir written by his brother, the author Augusten Burroughs.
But what is surprising about Mr. Robison is that he unknowingly lived most of his life on the autism spectrum. It wasn’t until his 40’s that a psychologist friend suggested he might have Asperger’s syndrome, a disorder often considered a high-functioning form of autism. People with Asperger’s usually have average or above-average intelligence, but they lack the intuitive ability to read social cues and find it difficult to make friends and form relationships. Characteristics of Asperger’s include difficulty maintaining eye contact and a single-mindedness that can be odd and frustrating but also act to fuel creative genius

Link to Full Review:

Seeing yourself in autism - NYT blogs