John Elder Robison

Desde que tenía tres o cuatro años, John Elder Robison es consciente de que es diferente de los demás. Era incapaz de establecer contacto visual con otros niños y, cuando era adolescente, sus extrañas costumbres una fuerte inclinacion hacia los dispositivos electronicos, desmontar radios o cavar profundos hoyos le habian otorgado el sello de socialmente desviado. Sus padres no solo no lograron entender sus problemas de socializacion, sino que fueron practicamente tan disfuncionales como el. Pero, alentado por algunos maestros a arreglar sus equipos audiovisuales averiados, el pequeño Robison descubrio un mundo mas familiar y comodo de maquinas y circuitos, luz suave y perfeccion mecanica. Esto recondujo mas tarde su vida laboral hacia sectores donde la conducta extraña se considera normal, desarrollando las guitarras electricas de KISS o juguetes computerizados para la compañia de Milton Bradley. No fue hasta los cuarenta años que le diagnosticaron una forma de autismo llamada sindrome de Asperger. Entender lo que le ocurria transformo la forma en que se veia a si mismo y al mundo.Mirame a los ojos es la historia de como crecio con el sindrome de Asperger en un momento en que el diagnostico simplemente no existia, con el objetivo de ayudar a quienes estan hoy luchando para vivir con Asperger y mostrarles que no es una enfermedad, sino una forma de ser, que no necesita mas cura que la comprension y el aliento de los demas.

Desde que tenía tres o cuatro años, John Elder Robison es consciente de que es diferente de los demás. Era incapaz de establecer contacto visual con otros niños y, cuando era adolescente, sus extrañas costumbres una fuerte inclinacion hacia los dispositivos electronicos, desmontar radios o cavar profundos hoyos le habian otorgado el sello de socialmente desviado. Sus padres no solo no lograron entender sus problemas de socializacion, sino que fueron practicamente tan disfuncionales como el. Pero, alentado por algunos maestros a arreglar sus equipos audiovisuales averiados, el pequeño Robison descubrio un mundo mas familiar y comodo de maquinas y circuitos, luz suave y perfeccion mecanica. Esto recondujo mas tarde su vida laboral hacia sectores donde la conducta extraña se considera normal, desarrollando las guitarras electricas de KISS o juguetes computerizados para la compañia de Milton Bradley. No fue hasta los cuarenta años que le diagnosticaron una forma de autismo llamada sindrome de Asperger. Entender lo que le ocurria transformo la forma en que se veia a si mismo y al mundo.Mirame a los ojos es la historia de como crecio con el sindrome de Asperger en un momento en que el diagnostico simplemente no existia, con el objetivo de ayudar a quienes estan hoy luchando para vivir con Asperger y mostrarles que no es una enfermedad, sino una forma de ser, que no necesita mas cura que la comprension y el aliento de los demas.

Imagine hearing the words of a song but not feeling the passion that lies within. Imagine living for years with someone in need and not being able to sense their sadness. Imagine your world turned upside downLike so many others, John Elder Robison was born with Aspergers. Over the years, he misread others emotions or missed them altogether. Yet hed also married, raised a son and become a successful businessman, designing sound systems for rock bands, creating robot games for Milton Bradley and building a car business. Then, at the age of fifty, he became a participant in a major study that would use an experimental brain therapy in an effort to understand and address the issues at the heart of autism. Initially, the results are startling. Johns world is shaken by a previously unknown level of emotional awareness. But over the weeks that follow he struggles with the very real possibility that choosing to diminish his disability might also mean sacrificing his unique gifts and maybe even some of his closest relationships.

Bizarre, différent, dérangeant… Aux yeux des autres, John est un enfant étrange et il est exclu des jeux et des activités de ses camarades. Personne ne l’a compris, mais il est atteint d’une forme d’

From the time he was three or four years old, John Elder Robison realised that he was different from other people. He was unable to make eye contact or connect with other children, and by the time he was a teenager his odd habits - an inclination to blurt out non-sequiturs, obsessively dismantle radios or dig five-foot holes (and stick his younger brother in them) - had earned him the label social deviant. It didnt help that his mother conversed with light fixtures and his father spent evenings pickling himself in sherry.Look Me in the Eye is his story of growing up with Aspergers syndrome a form of autism at a time when the diagnosis simply didnt exist. Along the way it also tells the story of two brothers born eight years apart yet devoted to each other: the author and his younger brother Chris, who would grow up to become bestselling author Augusten Burroughs. This book is a rare fusion of inspiration, dark comedy and insight into the workings of the human mind. For someone who has struggled all his life to connect with other people, Robison proves to be an extraordinary storyteller.

In Be Different, New York Times bestselling author of Look Me in the Eye shares a new batch of endearing stories about his childhood, adolescence, and young adult years, giving the reader a rare window into the Autistic mind. In his bestselling memoir, Look Me in the Eye, John Elder Robison described growing up with Autism Spectrum Disorder at a time when the diagnosis didnt exist. He was intelligent but socially isolated; his talents won him jobs with toy makers and rock bands but did little to endear him to authority figures and classmates, who were put off by his inclination to blurt out non sequiturs and avoid eye contact.By the time he was diagnosed at age forty, John had already developed a myriad of coping strategies that helped him achieve a seemingly normal, even highly successful, life. In each story, he offers practical advice for anyone who feels different on how to improve the weak communication and social skills that keep so many people from taking full advantage of their often remarkable gifts. With his trademark honesty and unapologetic eccentricity, Robison addresses questions like: How to read others and follow their behaviors when in uncertain social situations Why manners matter How to harness your powers of concentration to master difficult skills How to deal with bullies When to make an effort to fit in, and when to embrace eccentricity How to identify special gifts and use them to your advantageEvery person has something unique to offer the world, and every person has the capacity to create strong, loving bonds with their friends and family. Be Different will help readers and those they love find their path to success.

The slyly funny, sweetly moving memoir of an unconventional dads relationship with his equally offbeat soncomplete with fast cars, tall tales, homemade explosives, and a whole lot of fun and trouble John Robison was not your typical dad. Diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome at the age of forty, he approached fatherhood as a series of logic puzzles and practical jokes. Instead of a speech about the birds and the bees, he told his son, Cubby, that hed bought him at the Kid Storeand that the salesman had cheated him by promising Cubby would do all chores. While other parents played catch with their kids, John taught Cubby to drive the familys antique Rolls-Royce. Still, Cubby seemed to be turning out pretty well, at least until school authorities decided that he was dumb and stubbornthe very same thing John had been told as a child. Did Cubby have Aspergers too? The answer was unclear. One thing was clear, though: By the time he turned seventeen, Cubby had become a brilliant and curious chemistsmart enough to make military-grade explosives and bring federal agents calling. With Cubby facing a felony trialand up to sixty years in prisonboth father and son were forced to take stock of their lives, finally accepting that being on the spectrum is both a challenge and a unique gift.

An extraordinary memoir about the cutting-edge brain therapy that dramatically changed the life and mind of John Elder Robison, the New York Times bestselling author of Look Me in the EyeNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POSTImagine spending the first forty years of your life in darkness, blind to the emotions and social signals of other people. Then imagine that someone suddenly switches the lights on.It has long been assumed that people living with autism are born with the diminished ability to read the emotions of others, even as they feel emotion deeply. But what if weve been wrong all this time? What if that missing emotional insight was there all along, locked away and inaccessible in the mind? In 2007 John Elder Robison wrote the international bestseller Look Me in the Eye, a memoir about growing up with Aspergers syndrome. Amid the blaze of publicity that followed, he received a unique invitation: Would John like to take part in a study led by one of the worlds foremost neuroscientists, who would use an experimental new brain therapy known as TMS, or transcranial magnetic stimulation, in an effort to understand and then address the issues at the heart of autism? Switched On is the extraordinary story of what happened next. Having spent forty years as a social outcast, misreading others emotions or missing them completely, John is suddenly able to sense a powerful range of feelings in other people. However, this newfound insight brings unforeseen problems and serious questions. As the emotional ground shifts beneath his feet, John struggles with the very real possibility that choosing to diminish his disability might also mean sacrificing his unique gifts and even some of his closest relationships. Switched On is a real-life Flowers for Algernon, a fascinating and intimate window into what it means to be neurologically different, and what happens when the world as you know it is upended overnight.Praise for Switched OnAn eye-opening book with a radical message . . . The transformations [Robison] undergoes throughout the book are astonishingas foreign and overwhelming as if he woke up one morning with the visual range of a bee or the auditory prowess of a bat.The New York Times Astonishing, brave . . . reads like a medical thriller and keeps you wondering what will happen next . . . [Robison] takes readers for a ride through the thorny thickets of neuroscience and leaves us wanting more.The Washington Post Fascinating for its insights into Aspergers and research, this engrossing record will make readers reexamine their preconceptions about this syndrome and the future of brain manipulation.BooklistLike books by Andrew Solomon and Oliver Sacks, Switched On offers an opportunity to consider mental processes through a combination of powerful narrative and informative medical context.BookPage A mind-blowing book that will force you to ask deep questions about what is important in life. Would normalizing the brains of those who think differently reduce their motivation for great achievement?Temple Grandin, author of The Autistic Brain At the heart of Switched On are fundamental questions of who we are, of where our identity resides, of difference and disability and free will, which are brought into sharp focus by Robisons lived experience.Graeme Simsion, author of The Rosie Effect