Autistic Joe's Page Joe's Autistic Page

Joe's Autism Page




Okay – to start with – this page is really just my speculation about autism spectrum disorder.

This page does not contain:

  1. useful information,

  2. facts (unless they slipped in when I wasn't looking), or

  3. personal experience. (If I 'have' autism – which, being an engineer, is likely - it is a mild 'case'. But then most men seem at least mildly autistic, don't we?)

I recently read Prof. Simon Baron-Cohen's book, The Essential Difference. I found his ideas about the difference between empathic and systematic brains, though I have used slightly different terms than the author does, credible. My interpretation of the author's hypothesis is captured below.

This theory addresses numerous questions about which I have wondered. For example:

I encourage you to read the book – it is well written and accessible (i.e., non-technical). However, despite my favorable impressions, I do have some complaints. The book could have been much better if it were more technical. There is often insufficient information to allow the reader to evaluate the strength of the author's arguments. References to primary sources are made (thank you). But finding issue '1' of a journal named Autism will challenge any reader without access to a medical school's library. If the author had supplied 100 pages of supporting endnotes – 100 pages that could be ignored by those less interested in evidence – this would have been a more satisfying book.

My second complaint is more substantial. I believe that the author misrepresents his own theory by using poorly thought-out graphs. This complaint gets its own page. See why I am complaining about those dumb graphs! [click here]