Out of Silence: An Autistic Boy's Journey into Language and Communication

by Russell Martin

Ian Drummond spoke his first words at the age of eighteen months. In the days and then years that followed, there would be no others. Diagnosed as autistic, he fell into a world of silence, his life shaped by sudden screaming, inexplicable fears, and obsessive rituals. This mesmerizing and inspiring book follows Ian and his family as they valiantly struggle to restore his speech. But as told by Russell Martin, the acclaimed writer who is also Ian's uncle, Out of Silence is also a learned and often poetic investigation of language itself, a book that draws on disciplines from neurophysiology to linguistics in search of the elusive miracle that some people think is the defining feature of our species.

Genres: Nonfiction, Language, Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Psychology

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Russell Martin directed, wrote, and produced the highly acclaimed and award-winning documentary Beautiful Faces, filmed in Mexico City, which premiered in 2012. He is a producer and co-writer of the award-winning documentary film Two Spirits and an award-winning, internationally published author of two critically acclaimed novels, The Sorrow of Archaeology and Beautiful Islands, as well as many nonfiction books. He has written for Time, the New York Times, New York Times Magazine, and National Public Radio.

His nonfiction book Beethoven's Hair, a United States bestseller and a Washington Post Book of the Year, has been published in twenty-one translated editions and is the subject of a Gemini-award-winning film of the same name. His books have been optioned by Robert Redford’s Wildwood Enterprises, the Denver Center Theatre Company, and New World Television. He is, says Kirkus Reviews, “first and foremost a masterful storyteller.”

His highly acclaimed book, Picasso's War, has been published in seven international editions; Out of Silence, was named by the Bloomsbury Review as one of fifteen best books of its first fifteen years of publication, and A Story That Stands Like A Dam: Glen Canyon and the Struggle for the Soul of the West, won the Caroline Bancroft History Prize.

When he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Colorado College in 1995, the citation read, in part, “Mr. Martin offers to general audiences precise and accurate, but highly readable, studies of extraordinarily complex issues. He does more: he sees beyond what is already known; he moves beyond synthesis to new insights. His work is disciplined, analytical, and creative. It is also profoundly humane.”

Reviews

[Alyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

during a routine vaccination, a normal 18-month-old boy with an undiagnosed allergy, developed complications leading to autism. the book is about the boy's journey, how he was able to cope with his condition and express himself.

the author (the boys's uncle)has the tendency at times to be too technical, but a reader is still able to sense the love and caring of the family especially the parents, who always believed in their little boy

[Iamshadow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Regardless of what you might think about Facilitated Communication and its use with people with autism, this book was worth reading for its insights into language acquisition and development. The cover 'quote' compared the style to Oliver Sacks, and I could appreciate the comparison. It made my brain feel like it was being stretched, which is always a good thing, but I had to read it in small doses when I was alert, or otherwise I couldn't make sense of it. I had to do the same thing when I read Sacks' Awakenings.

It was also the first book I'd read that talked sensibly for the cause of vaccine-triggered autism, and wasn't just looking for someone to blame with no scientific justification. Martin put forward the case for why he thought his nephew Ian's autism was caused by the pertussis vaccine, and he did it convincingly, to my mind. He wasn't raving about mercury, he talked about whole cell vaccines. They aren't advised for children with severe allergies or sensitivities because of potentially fatal or brain-damaging side effects, but Ian's parents weren't told that by their paediatrician, and he was given it anyway. Everything Martin put across or said regarding vaccines and the way autism effects the brain, he emphasised as 'just his theories', not set in stone. I liked that he wasn't an extremist in his views, and that although he obviously had ideas he was keen on, he didn't try to apply them to every person with autism, just the one in his life.

This isn't worth reading if you're just looking for a biography of an autistic child though. Read it if you're interested in linguistics, language acquisition and autism.

[Romaissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me so long to finish this book; exactly a month. I was very slow while reading it, because it included a lot of informations about social science, linguistics and other researches which were a bit difficult for me to understand all of them easily. But i'm appreciated for reading all those informations, because i got to know more about language and understand it deeply. Also, i discovered a lot about autism when i was reading about Ian and his journey with his family dealing with this disease, and those were my favorite parts of the book. I learned so much from this, even though i don't usually read nonfiction, but i'm glad i did.

[Heidi · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is hard to read since the information about autism is so dated. I found it frustrating to read. The author is a journalist and his research on language is interesting, but he doesn't site any sources. How do you give the history and development of language without siting sources. And he's not an expert on early childhood development or autism, so he really has no authority in writing this book.

[Judy Frey · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s probably really a 3+. This was actually written quite some time ago and the information seems dated in some ways. In other ways, it asks all the same questions asked today. The author is the uncle of the little boy in the book. This boy is severely impacted by autism. It is truly uncomfortable to read what hexed hid family have been through. His family definitely connects his onset of autism with the pertussis vaccine. He changes neatly immediately and loses all the language and other skills he had acquired. It literally brings tears to your eyes. Over time, he acquires a piece of assistive technology that allows his family to understand that he is truly “ in there” and aware of his autism. He can speak of his grief at being so different. For him, the big change comes with facilitated communication. This was popular many years ago and then discredited as almost a hoax. It involves an adult supporting the arm of a child who then types his thoughts. Despite its poor reputation, I personally knew two severe kids, that most viewed as severely retarded, who learned to type alone and express things I never could have imagined they knew or thought. Yet it doesnt work for others. The hardest thing about autism is that each case stands alone. The book is interesting but is very technical at times. The author goes deeply into how language develops. He has done a tremendous amount of research and poses some of his own ideas about the causes of autism. Written in 1994, researchers, educators etc are still searching for what causes autism. While Ian was hurt through vaccine, this hasn’t been said about all. Difficult and frustrating.

[Cristel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The parts about Ian and his family are fascinating, but I got bogged down by much of the research that was included in between those passages, especially in the first half of the book. I ended up skimming a lot of the more technical sections that focused on (now, perhaps dated) linguistics and autism research because I was eager to continue with Ian's story.

[Ash · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ian’s story of a journey to spoken language is amazing! I always enjoy a “feel good” story about an individual (especially if it is an individual with a disability) can overcome obstacles; and this story fits right in with that genre! It provides a very positive light on facilitated communication, which is not highly accepted today. It proves that in some cases, facilitated communication is a viable option and can create incredible opportunities for children. While this story of Ian is very moving, it at times was very disjointed. The author, Ian’s uncle, researched a lot about a language development and autism, which he would place in the middle of Ian’s story. His research and queries, while very interesting, were very distracting to the overall story. I couldn’t myself help at times: I just skipped over those paragraphs just to get back to Ian and his incredible story.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned the intriguing idea we are wired for a basic syntax that fits all languages and that is only made manifest with environmental inputs mostly before age six. If inputs are missing (i.e. raised in isolation,brain deficits), people can still pick up a lexicon but not that basic syntax in later years. I appreciate that this story confirms how important it is for human beings to be able to express themselves so they are understood, and that Ian was able to find a way with tremendous support from family and school.

[Marcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, but I am biased because I teach a class on language development. Martin really did his research in writing this book! The best parts are certainly Ian's, but he does a nice job delving into language theory as well. The only qualm I have about the book is that it could well persuade people who don't know better that vaccinations cause autism. There is much recent research against this idea. In fact, I wonder what Martin would have to say about this, ten years later?

[Cassiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating journey of an autistic boy finding speech. The writer, his uncle, has some beautiful insights into the inner mental world of this isolated child. Uncle is invested in the belief that brain damage was caused by childhood immunization, still a hotly debated idea. I wonder what kind of a young adult Ian has become.

[Bailey Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this during college since a large part of my major dealt with autism and it was required. I enjoyed it more as a novel of strength and love through hardship and didn't view it as a "required read" at all!