Neurotribes by Steve Silberman and In a Different Key by John Donvan and Caren Zucker are both journalistic accounts of the history of autism, having been released a few months apart in 2015 and 2016. The former’s subtitle is “The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity” while the latter’s is simply “The Story of Autism.” Those subtitles stand out, as Silberman calls autistic people’s history a legacy, but Donvan and Zucker simply call it a story. Both books cover some of the same figures and movements during the small span of autism history (that is, after it became officially recognized by doctors), but the authors approach their respective books in a different manner.
Silberman’s story begins with the history of Henry Cavendish, who was a reclusive scientist that was the first known man to weigh the earth, as well as discovered hydrogen. He displayed many common autistic traits, such as difficulty commonucating and an abstract sense of thought that would lead to life-changing discoveries. It’s for similar reasons why many believe Isaac Newton to be an early autistic historical figure. Silberman takes great effort through his writing to appreciate Cavendish’s work and display why autistic minds can demand great reverence.
As for Donvan and Zucker’s story, it starts by telling the tale of Donald Triplett, the first boy to be diagnosed as autistic in the United States. However, the first section of the book is called “Autism’s First Child,” which is inaccurate, as Hans Asperger had worked with autistic children a few years prior during WWII. Right from the beginning, one can tell that this book is a story emphasizing parents of autistic children, as Triplett’s parents are talked about in much vaster detail than the child himself. The formula is the same for almost all the other autistic children in the book. Parents are a vital key for children both disabled and non-disabled to succeed. But when talking about autism, autistic people themselves are equally deserving of telling their own story, as they are humans whose neurotype cannot be separated from themselves. That is where Neurotribes shines and In a Different Key lacks.
Both books have a chapter devoted to the self-advocacy movement, but they contrast greatly from one another. In a Different Key describes Ari Ne’eman’s effect on parents as, “for many mothers and fathers, it was galling to be lectured to by perfectly verbal, automobile-driving, college-attending grown-ups whose supposed autism-produced disability appeared minuscule in comparison to what their own kids were facing.” However, activists like Ari Ne’eman are still autistic, and only want other autistics to live happy lives without having to change who they are. Another significant anecdote they talk about is a conversation between Liz Bell and Ne’eman, where she expressed disagreeing with him about wanting a cure for autism, painting Ne’eman as someone lacking empathy just for standing his ground. They also include a direct quote from Bell but not Ne’eman, making the reader wonder what he actually said; in that case, the anecdote seems rather biased because it paints Bell as being righteous and Ne’eman as the opposition because he was voicing an opinion of his own. His account of the story can be found here.
Silberman does not shy away from talking about parents either. However, when he does talk about parents, he tells a story of Shannon Des Roches Rosa, who transformed from an autism mom to a fantastic neurotypical ally. Originally resorting to unproven “cures” to treat her high-support needs son Leo (almost resorting to dangerous chelation therapies), readers can see how she defected from the crowd of warrior moms and learned to accept Leo for who he was. Granted, like Liz Bell’s son, he too has high-support needs with limited speech, but Rosa fully embraces her son instead of seeing him as “sick,” which Donvan and Zucker refer to Bell’s son as. It can certainly be difficult to take care of a high-support needs child who needs 24/7 care and has GI issues, but such things can happen to one’s parent once they become elderly. Does that mean you wish your parent was a different person so you don’t have to take an effort to care for them?
Another disturbing story In a Different Key talks about is the murder of Dougie Gibson by his father, Alec. Gibson had been rejected by multiple schools and was forced to stay home because none would accept him. Out of frustration, his father shot him in the head because he felt that his son had no future. What makes this even more disturbing is how Donvan and Zucker try to provide reasoning for the murder. Instead of saying how it’s inexcusable to kill a child, they say “The DA’s competing story – that Alec Gibson was a father who killed his mentally disabled son because he was tired of the sacrifices required and just wanted his freedom back – appealed more to a common sense that knew nothing of raising a child with severe autism. No members of the jury had such experience.” In this instance, the DA was right because murder is a choice. Alec Gibson did not have to murder his son, but that quote implies bias and justification because the court “knew nothing of raising a child with severe autism.” Such wording is treacherous and can give uninformed readers the impression that murdering an autistic child because they have high-support needs is understandable. The story of Issy Stapleton also comes to mind after reading this anecdote.
In terms of epilogues, Silberman devotes it to Bernard Rimland’s son, Mark, talking about his contentment with his life. He says how Rimland had wished his son were “normal” on his deathbed, but shows how Mark is perfectly happy living with his mother and brother without having to fit his father’s standard of normal (the book literally calls him a saint, although Bernard Rimland was a tenacious anti-vaxxer). This is the prevailing theme of the entire book, which is that autistic people are a crucial part of human diversity; you also don’t have to follow preconceived standards that someone else expects of you to live a fulfilling life. As for Donvan and Zucker’s book, it talks about an autistic adult that was bullied on a bus in New Jersey, as well as how adult services in the US are lacking. Instead of showing the victim’s point of view, they make him more of a secondary figure, painting the people who defended him as the heroes. It almost gives the impression that the community was doing a favor by welcoming him instead of doing it because it was the morally right thing to do.
Defending vulnerable individuals such as minorities and disabled people should be second nature for people, which Silberman displays but Donvan and Zucker are missing. With that said, both books are vital in detailing the full picture of the sorrowful yet mesmerizing history of autism. Each book caters to a different audience, but they are certainly powerful books for the audiences they respectively appeal to.