{"id":127828,"date":"2024-08-07T09:56:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-07T13:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=127828"},"modified":"2026-01-21T17:07:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T21:07:15","slug":"neurotribes-steve-silberman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/neurotribes-steve-silberman\/","title":{"rendered":"NeuroTribes by Steve Silberman: Book Overview & Takeaways"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How do autistic brains differ from allistic brains? Why isn’t Asperger\u2019s syndrome a legitimate diagnosis anymore? What is the only cure for autism<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every day, people with autism are forced to exist in a world that’s not designed for their brains. In the book NeuroTribes<\/em> by Steve Silberman, he explores the history, characterization, and evolving societal perception of autism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you or someone you know is autistic or you\u2019re simply curious about autism, here’s an overview of NeuroTribes<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity<\/em>, an Overview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In NeuroTribes<\/em><\/a> by Steve Silberman, he explores the history, characterization, and evolving societal perception of autism. He challenges the prevalent myths and misconceptions about autism, celebrates the unique strengths of autistic individuals, and advocates for a more inclusive society that recognizes and respects neurological differences.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silberman is an award-winning writer who\u2019s contributed to publications such as Wired<\/em><\/a>, The New York Times<\/em><\/a>, the MIT Technology Review<\/em><\/a>, and Nature<\/em><\/a>. He\u2019s won several awards for NeuroTribes<\/em>, including the 2015 Samuel Johnson<\/a> Prize for Non-Fiction, and in 2016 he delivered the keynote speech at the United Nations for World Autism Awareness Day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Throughout the guide, we\u2019ll use the term \u201callistic<\/a>\u201d to refer to people who aren\u2019t autistic.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Autism?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Silberman explains that autism is a developmental disorder with a wide range of traits that impact different areas of a person\u2019s functioning and experiences<\/strong>. These areas include social interaction and communication, sensory processing<\/a> and sensitivities, and behavioral and cognitive patterns<\/a>. In this section, we\u2019ll explain some of the most common characteristics, grouped according to these areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silberman emphasizes that no two autistic people are exactly alike and that all of the following characteristics exist on a spectrum, which means any given autistic person may demonstrate these traits to varying degrees (or not at all). This is also not a comprehensive list of autistic traits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Area #1: Social Interaction and Communication<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Silberman touches on two specific ways in which autistic people may struggle with social interactions: difficulty following social norms<\/a> and difficulty communicating with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Difficulty Following Social Norms<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

According to Silberman, autistic people often struggle with different aspects of social interaction, which can lead to isolation, alienation by their peers, or avoidance of social interaction. Silberman describes some specific ways autistic people struggle to interact with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, they may have difficulty making eye contact<\/strong>\u2014a struggle also known as gaze aversion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, they may have trouble connecting with their peers<\/strong>, so autistic children often gravitate toward adults rather than other children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Third, they often have solitary tendencies<\/strong> and feel less inclined to participate in social activities, but they also have rich internal lives<\/strong> that keep them entertained and engaged. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Difficulty Communicating<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Silberman also explains that autistic people can struggle with communicating\u2014particularly with expressing their thoughts, feelings, and needs.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silberman describes several differences in communication that many autistic people experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, they may communicate through echolalia<\/strong>, or the practice of repeating things they\u2019ve heard from others. This can include repeating words or phrases verbatim without adapting them for context. For example, an autistic child who wants a snack may ask for it by saying, \u201cDo you want a cookie?\u201d rather than, \u201cI want a cookie.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, they may struggle to notice and\/or convey irony or sarcasm<\/strong>, which can lead to the misconception that autistic people can\u2019t understand irony or humor. This may be somewhat related to literal thinking, which we\u2019ll describe in greater detail later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Area #2: Sensory Processing and Self-Regulation<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Silberman also notes two major differences in the neural functioning of autistic people versus allistic people, specifically in terms of processing sensory input and self-regulating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Processing Sensory Stimuli<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Silberman explains that autistic people\u2019s brains tend to process stimuli differently than allistic people. They often have extreme sensory sensitivities<\/a>,<\/strong> as well as a much lower threshold for the sensory input they can handle without becoming overwhelmed.<\/strong> As a result, they find ways of regulating their brains to avoid sensory overload. For example, an autistic person attending a party might need to take a break and go sit alone in a quiet room for a while to keep their system from becoming overloaded, whereas an allistic person might not have trouble handling that much sensory input.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Methods of Self-Regulation<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

To manage the sensory input they receive, autistic people often rely heavily on routines<\/strong>. For example, they may eat the same food for every meal or wear the same clothes every day to avoid overstimulation from unfamiliar tastes or fabric textures. Interruptions to their routines or changes in familiar environments are often distressing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Autistic people also often engage in repetitive movements or behaviors\u2014called \u201cstimming,\u201d short for self-stimulatory behavior.<\/strong> Stimming can include rocking back and forth, flapping their hands, echolalia, or holding or playing with a specific object. According to Silberman, autistic people stim for many reasons, including to reduce anxiety; to express different emotions like happiness, boredom, and frustration; or simply because it feels good.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Area #3: Behavioral and Cognitive Patterns<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Silberman explains that autistic people also behave and think differently from their allistic peers. They often have deep passions known as special interests, have a tendency for literal thinking, and view things from a unique perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Beginning of Our Clinical Understanding of Autism<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While we now have a broad understanding of many aspects of autism, this understanding is relatively new\u2014prior to the mid-20th century, autism wasn\u2019t identified as its own distinct disorder, and little research had been done on it<\/strong>. In this section, we\u2019ll look at the origins of our clinical understanding of autism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silberman writes that the history of autism research<\/a> began with the work of Austrian physician Hans Asperger in the 1930s and 1940s. Asperger believed that disabled children<\/a> weren\u2019t defective\u2014as most people believed at the time\u2014but simply had unique needs and strengths. He and the other staff at his clinic saw over 200 children, as well as many teenagers and adults, who demonstrated many of the traits of autism<\/a> we described earlier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through years of research and working with autistic people, Asperger concluded that autism is a relatively common disorder that encompasses a wide range of both ability and disability<\/strong>. He also concluded that it\u2019s hereditary\u2014often passing down from parent to child\u2014and lifelong. And importantly, he noticed that it occurs along a wide spectrum; he suggested that every <\/em>autistic person experiences a different type of autism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Silberman, while prior research into autism primarily focused on deficits<\/em>, Asperger noticed that many autistic people had unique skill sets and cognitive abilities<\/strong>. He called these skills and abilities \u201cautistic intelligence.\u201d He noticed that people in the sciences seemed particularly likely to show autistic traits, and he theorized that autism was more common in such fields because autistic intelligence often lent itself well to such work. Abstract reasoning, creative and novel thinking, and passionate interests are highly beneficial in science and may give autistic people an advantage over their allistic peers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asperger suggested that autistic people have always made important contributions to culture and human progress<\/a>, and he argued vehemently in favor of their value as human beings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Society Viewed Disabled People: The Eugenics Movement<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While Asperger and many of his colleagues saw disabled people as valuable humans who deserved basic rights, many at the time believed otherwise, explains Silberman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the years following World War I, many people in America began to adopt eugenicist<\/em> views. Eugenics was a pseudoscientific movement devoted to creating the ideal human by stamping out traits viewed as undesirable.<\/strong> Eugenicists believed that allowing certain groups of people to live and reproduce would cause a reverse natural selection<\/a> process in which the worst elements of human nature would be passed on to successive generations while the best elements would be lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Silberman, eugenicists used a very strict definition of the \u201cbest\u201d human qualities. Their idea of the \u201cperfect\u201d human was one who was white, of Northern European descent, physically and mentally able, and free of all disease.<\/strong> This excluded Black people, Native Americans, Jewish people, and disabled people, among many others. They viewed disabled people as defectives and moral degenerates unworthy of life. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, many US states allowed health officials to forcibly sterilize people in mental asylums, prisons, and schools for mentally disabled children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As these ideas spread<\/a> to Germany, Silberman explains, they became the basis for much of the Nazis\u2019 ideology and genocidal tactics<\/strong>. In the next sections, we\u2019ll explain how Nazi Germany adopted eugenics and used it to justify their extermination of disabled people. Then we\u2019ll look at how this shaped the way Asperger presented his findings on autism to the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nazi Germany\u2019s Embrace of Eugenics<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

According to Silberman, though eugenicist ideology initially developed in America, post-World War I Germany quickly embraced these ideas<\/strong>. Silberman suggests that this is partly because World War I had cost the lives of a generation of healthy soldiers\u2014young, physically fit males who embodied the eugenicist idea of the \u201cperfect\u201d human. People feared that this loss left a disproportionate number of \u201cdefective\u201d people who would reproduce and reduce the overall quality of the German populace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hitler crafted his vision for a \u201cperfect\u201d society around these eugenicist ideas.<\/strong> As he rose to power, the German government legalized the forced sterilization of German citizens who had schizophrenia, epilepsy, congenital deafness, or alcoholism, among other conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the 1930s, the medical field in Germany became overrun with Nazis. Many who opposed their ideology were fired or sent to concentration camps. Though many of his colleagues joined the Nazi party and helped them carry out the Holocaust, Asperger refrained from doing so<\/strong>, according to Silberman. He also refused to report his patients to the Reich Committee, which determined whether a disabled person would be euthanized\u2014sometimes based on nothing more than a person\u2019s score on an IQ test. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Silberman, Asperger tried to speak out in favor of the value of disabled people\u2019s lives without overtly defying the Nazis\u2014as we\u2019ll see in the next section, he curated the results of his research to try to dispel the idea that autistic people were worthless\u2014but the eugenicist belief that disabled people deserved to be exterminated prevailed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asperger\u2019s Thesis: Consequences for Future Autism Research<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In 1944, explains Silberman, Asperger published his thesis on autism. His goal was, in part, to demonstrate that autistic people could make valuable contributions to society in the hope that this would help spare them from the Nazis\u2019 slaughter of those they considered \u201cworthless.\u201d Because of this, he chose to focus his paper on just four specific cases out of the hundreds of autistic children he\u2019d studied<\/strong>. The children in these four cases had no severe impairments and displayed exceptional abilities in math and science. He tried to make the case that people with such abilities could be useful to the Nazis as code breakers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Silberman, this well-intentioned choice had long-lasting, damaging consequences for the field of autism study: Whereas Asperger knew that autism wasn\u2019t rare and that it was a broad spectrum, his published work made it seem like autism<\/strong> was strictly defined and not at all severe<\/strong>. This led other researchers to believe that the condition Asperger studied was a separate condition from autism. (It also later led to the development of the diagnosis of Asperger\u2019s syndrome, now colloquially understood to be a subtype of autism, though it no longer appears in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leo Kanner: The Leading Autism Research in America<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At the same time that Asperger was studying autistic children in Vienna and drafting his thesis, child psychiatrist Leo Kanner<\/a> was studying autism in America. Silberman explains that Kanner was one of the most prominent psychiatrists in America, and his work on autism became the defining research for many years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though Kanner worked with some of Asperger\u2019s colleagues (those who came to America to flee the Nazis), Kanner\u2019s work never mentions Asperger\u2019s<\/strong>. Silberman suggests that Kanner refrained from acknowledging Asperger\u2019s research\u2014as well as the research of others who\u2019d studied autism under different names, like childhood schizophrenia\u2014because he saw himself as the lone discoverer of autism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Differences Between Asperger\u2019s and Kanner\u2019s Approaches<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

According to Silberman, Kanner approached autism research differently than Asperger did, which led to discrepancies in their findings and\u2014Silberman suggests\u2014inaccuracies in Kanner\u2019s. Silberman describes four main differences between Kanner\u2019s and Asperger\u2019s research: the age of the subjects, the range of their traits, the rarity and severity of their traits, and the belief in what causes autism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Difference #1: Age of Subjects<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

While Asperger studied both children and adults, Kanner limited his study to very young children<\/strong>. Because of this, diagnostic criteria were limited to early childhood behaviors, meaning that teens and adults who weren\u2019t diagnosed in childhood often went undiagnosed for the rest of their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Difference #2: Range of Traits<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

According to Silberman, Kanner also ignored the individual differences between his patients and described autism according to very restrictive criteria.<\/strong> He viewed autism as a monolithic disorder with few or no variations\u2014as opposed to the spectrum Asperger identified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Difference #3: Rarity and Severity<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, Kanner defined autism as being extremely rare and very severe<\/strong>, explains Silberman. This clashed with Asperger\u2019s understanding of autism as relatively common and presenting on a spectrum. While Asperger intentionally worked with children of all different levels, Kanner placed himself at the top of the autism assessment and treatment hierarchy, guaranteeing that he would only see the most severe cases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Difference #4: Cause<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Finally, Silberman explains that Asperger and Kanner<\/a> differed in their beliefs on what caused autism: While Asperger felt confident that it was a genetic disorder passed on through families, Kanner instead promoted the idea that it was a condition caused by insufficiently affectionate parenting in a child\u2019s early years<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because Kanner\u2019s work was so well-known while Asperger\u2019s was virtually unheard of, the medical field came to view autism as a severely disabling, extremely rare disorder inflicted by bad parenting\u2014a misunderstanding that lasted for decades to come<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A New Perspective on Autism: The Work of Bernard Rimland<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

According to Silberman, the theory that poor parenting<\/a> causes autism prevailed in the medical field until the 1960s, when Navy psychologist Bernard Rimland<\/a> (who had an autistic son) published a book arguing that autism wasn\u2019t caused by childhood trauma but was instead a genetic disorder<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rimland\u2019s book took the blame for autism off of the parents<\/strong>, Silberman explains. It also took the experiences of autistic children into account in a way that had rarely been done before: Rimland theorized about what it was like to exist in a world not built for them and sympathized with the frustration that must come from meeting all the seemingly arbitrary demands of adults whose brains worked differently. However, not all of his work holds up to modern scrutiny, as we\u2019ll see next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rimland\u2019s Problematic Theories<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

While much of Rimland\u2019s work helped progress the field of autism research, he also promoted other, ultimately harmful theories<\/strong>, Silberman explains. For instance, Rimland agreed with Kanner\u2019s strict definition of what constituted autism and believed it wasn\u2019t a spectrum. He also posited that while autism was genetic, environmental factors such as diet and metabolism<\/a> could exacerbate it. This began a movement known as the biomedical movement (or BioMed for short). This movement was devoted to \u201ccuring\u201d autism through dietary changes (like gluten-free or ketogenic diets), supplements, medication, and chelation (the use of drugs that bind to toxic metals in the blood, allowing the body to then flush out the toxic metals). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rimland also promoted the idea that vaccines caused autism.<\/strong> Though it\u2019s since been debunked, this idea gained greater traction in the late 1990s, when gastroenterologist Andrew Wakefield published a paper claiming that chemicals in the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine had caused an autism epidemic. The paper cited a study that was later retracted due to its unreliability and inaccuracies, and Wakefield lost his medical license for spreading fraudulent information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, the apparent \u201cautism epidemic\u201d that Wakefield cited wasn\u2019t<\/em> due to an increased incidence of autism. Rather, increasing autism rates were due to expanded diagnostic criteria and a better clinical understanding of the disorder. Thus, vaccination rates had no effect on autism rates.Still, the paper led to a worldwide drop in vaccination rates, resulting in a massive resurgence of diseases that had nearly been eradicated<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Applied Behavioral Analysis<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many today still believe that autism can be medically \u201ccured\u201d through biomedical interventions or by avoiding vaccines. In this section, we\u2019ll explain another purported treatment of autism called applied behavior analysis (ABA): a type of therapy based on the psychological principles of behaviorism. Silberman explains how psychologist Ivar Lovaas developed this \u201ctherapy\u201d as a means of ridding autistic children of their autistic traits so they would seem \u201cnormal.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lovaas\u2019s treatment involved teaching children to perform certain behaviors to get a reward\u2014for example, the therapist would instruct the child to give them a hug or a kiss, and they would reward the child with food when they did so. However, as his treatment proved ineffective with some children, Lovaas began implementing punishments for failing to perform the desired behavior<\/strong>, or for performing undesired behaviors like stimming and echolalia. These punishments included striking children, subjecting them to blasts of sound over 100 decibels, subjecting them to electric shocks, and withholding food and water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite outcries from the public and the medical field about the use of ABA on autistic people, some facilities and professionals still practice it and use punishments like electric shock.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While these different approaches have had varying levels of success<\/a> in treating some aspects of autism, there\u2019s no medical \u201ccure\u201d for autism. And, according to Silberman, there\u2019s no need for a cure: Modern advocates of neurodiversity argue that autism isn\u2019t a mistake or a problem to be solved, but a valuable aspect of humanity<\/strong>. And while many traits of autism can be disabling, the best way to treat these is through social support, a strategy we\u2019ll explore in the next section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The True Treatment for Autism<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Silberman suggests that the only \u201ccure\u201d for autism is support and community: Autistic people need to be able to connect with people<\/a> like them and have access to environments conducive to their needs and strengths.<\/strong> In this section, we\u2019ll describe some ways autistic people have found to create their own spaces and communities throughout recent history, including fandoms, events designed for autistic people, and online communities. Then, we\u2019ll explain Silberman\u2019s suggestions for how society can create more inclusive environments for autistic people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating Autistic Space<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Silberman explains that the advent of the sci-fi genre of literature in the mid-20th century gave many autistic people a way to connect with each other<\/strong>, giving rise to the first fandom. Reading is a common passion for autistic people, and Silberman suggests autistic people are drawn to the sci-fi genre because it offers membership in a group with its own jargon, rituals, and common ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silberman also emphasizes the importance of \u201cautistic space\u201d<\/strong>: environments that are designed for autistic people\u2019s unique needs and interests. He describes his experience of attending \u201cAutreat,\u201d a yearly retreat created by autistic people for autistic people\u2014for example, attendees were given different colored badges to indicate to others whether they wanted to interact, and people had to ask permission before taking photographs so the flashes wouldn\u2019t trigger seizures for anyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Autreat, Silberman experienced something he\u2019d never experienced before: being an allistic person surrounded by autistic people. This gave him a new understanding of what it might be like to live in a world where the majority of people don\u2019t think the way he does, something autistic people experience every day. He explains that places like Autreat give autistic people the opportunity to be in the majority instead of feeling abnormal or out of place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many autistic people have also created \u201cautistic spaces\u201d via online communities<\/strong>, where they can communicate in a setting that\u2019s conducive to their sensory needs without feeling pressure to suppress their autistic traits. These online communities have allowed more autistic people to connect with others<\/a> who share their experiences and ways of processing the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Society Can Better Accommodate Autistic People<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Silberman explains some ways in which society should adapt to support autistic people.<\/strong> For example, schools and workplaces could implement \u201cquiet spaces\u201d where people can get a respite from sensory input. Schools could use technology to provide the mode of instruction that best suits a student\u2019s neurological needs (for example, written instruction versus verbal instruction). They could also give students more control over their learning space by letting them use sunglasses, earplugs, and noise-canceling headphones to manage their sensory input.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silberman explains that some groups are already changing how they operate to not only accommodate autistic<\/a> people but also make the best use of their unique abilities. For example, some employers are replacing in-person interviews with small projects that allow candidates to put their abilities on display (since traditional interviews can be very socially demanding and require people to explain their skills rather than demonstrate them). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exercise: Reflect on Your Understanding of Autism<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Reflect on how this guide has influenced your understanding of autism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Briefly, what was your understanding of autism before reading this guide? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How has this guide changed your understanding of autism? What misconceptions can you identify in your previous understanding?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What principle from this guide do you think would be most beneficial for other people to understand about autism?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How do autistic brains differ from allistic brains? Why isn’t Asperger\u2019s syndrome a legitimate diagnosis anymore? What is the only cure for autism? Every day, people with autism are forced to exist in a world that’s not designed for their brains. In the book NeuroTribes by Steve Silberman, he explores the history, characterization, and evolving societal perception of autism.  Whether you or someone you know is autistic or you\u2019re simply curious about autism, here’s an overview of NeuroTribes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":127834,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,39,9],"tags":[1560],"class_list":["post-127828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-history","category-psychology","tag-neurotribes","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nNeuroTribes by Steve Silberman: Book Overview & Takeaways - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In the book NeuroTribes, Steve Silberman explores the history, characterization, and evolving societal perception of autism. 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