Isabel's World: Autism and the Making of a Modern Epidemic

by Roy Richard Grinker

When the author's daughter Isabel was diagnosed with autism in 1994, he knew nothing about it. Driven to learn more about this dramatic increase, he sets forth on a journey around the world and makes a surprising discovery about the autism epidemic that would change both his understanding of the disorder and his relationship with his daughter.

Genres: Autistic Spectrum Disorder

416 pages, Paperback

First published March 5, 2009

About the author

B. 1961

Professor of Anthropology, International Affairs, and Human Sciences at The George Washington University.

Grinker is an authority on North and South Korean relations. As part of his PhD research, he spent two years living with the Lese farmers and the Efé pygmies in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo as a Fulbright scholar. He has also conducted epidemiological research on autism in Korea.

Reviews

[Jolana · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title of this book is somewhat misleading as "The Making of a Modern Epidemic' conj ours the image of a fictional illness or disorder or syndrome. In fact, the author explains how the diagnosis of Autism has changed throughout the years and why it seems to be an epidemic from an anthropological viewpoint. It makes for entertaining and enlightening reading.
Anyone with an interest in Autism Spectrum Disorders will find the facts and figures fascinating as well as the insight into the lives of families affected by Autism from across the globe.
As a parent with a child on the spectrum, I highly recommend Isabel's World.

[Huda Fel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlike what I thought, the first half of the book gave me the longest read i've ever had about both kanner and hans asperger while the second part came to tell more about isabel's diagnosis and the efforts made to help her cope best

I'll defenately come back to take some notes and collect new vocabs