An interesting glance into the life of an aspergers adult

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	• Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's John Elder Robison Crown, 2007 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 135 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

I'm 63 and have Asperger Syndrome: Very Good Book

I've only know I had AS for two years. I've read a few books on it, but this one was particularly insightful and well written. There are five pages of charts that discuss typica symptoms and then both the negative and positive interpretations people may apply to that behavior. I found that to be one of the most helpful aspects of the book.

Well written, easy to read, very useful.

An interesting glance into the life of an aspergers adult

This was an educating read on a fascinating character with Asperger's. To see Mr. Robinson grow and be able to utilize his condition for his personal well being was inspiring. The fact that he is Augusten Burrough's brother is what led me to read the book but after finishing the autobiography, I realize his relationship to his brother played a very small part in my enjoyment of the work.

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Distasteful acts disguised as "pranks"

Caution: SPOILERS in this review.

The author seems to delight in "getting one over" certain people - he stages an elaborate stunt to get one over on the cops, tells his son convoluted lies about Santa being in trouble with the law, spends a huge amount of time setting up a trap for higher-ups at work to fall into (and then is incredulous and disgusted at the end result), and calls people insulting names because "that's the only way that works for me." Where does Aspberger's end and the "real" John Elder begin?

He goes on at great length about not understanding why people from a certain city like the way he describes them. The word "goonie" is in the middle of his word, which may be the reason. If he asked instead of trying to puzzle such things out in his head he may be surprised to know others are also intelligent in ways he is not.

The whole tone of this book is one of amused superiority.

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Not to be missed!

This is the BEST book of the many that I've read about Asperger's Syndrome. John Robison allows the reader to truly see the world through his eyes, and the result is an authentic experience unlike any other I've had. I'm a special ed teacher, sometimes working with Asperger's students. While reading this book, I gained a level of insight that none of the materials I've read or the experts I've talked with have given me before. The book can also stand on its own simply as a marvelous, engaging story. Everyone who works with, is related to, or even knows anyone with Asperger's Syndrome should read it.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Ever since he was small, John Robison had longed to connect with other people, but by the time he was a teenager, his odd habits?an inclination to blurt out non sequiturs, avoid eye contact, dismantle radios, and dig five-foot holes (and stick his younger brother in them)?had earned him the label ?social deviant.? No guidance came from his mother, who conversed with light fixtures, or his father, who spent evenings pickling himself in sherry. It was no wonder he gravitated to machines, which could, at least, be counted on.

After fleeing his parents and dropping out of high school, his savant-like ability to visualize electronic circuits landed him a gig with KISS, for whom he created their legendary fire-breathing guitars. Later, he drifted into a ?real? job, as an engineer for a major toy company. But the higher Robison rose in the company, the more he had to pretend to be ?normal? and do what he simply couldn?t: communicate. It wasn?t worth the paycheck.
It was not until he was forty that an insightful therapist told him he had the form of autism called Asperger?s syndrome. That understanding transformed the way Robison saw himself?and the world.

Look Me in the Eye is the moving, darkly funny story of growing up with Asperger?s at a time when the diagnosis simply didn?t exist. A born storyteller, Robison takes you inside the head of a boy whom teachers and other adults regarded as ?defective,? who could not avail himself of KISS?s endless supply of groupies, and who still has a peculiar aversion to using people?s given names (he calls his wife ?Unit Two?). He also provides a fascinating reverse angle on the younger brother he left at the mercy of their nutty parents?the boy who would later change his name to Augusten Burroughs and write the bestselling memoir Running with Scissors.

Ultimately, this is the story of Robison?s journey from his world into ours, and his new life as a husband, father, and successful small business owner?repairing his beloved high-end automobiles. It?s a strange, sly, indelible account?sometimes alien, yet always deeply human.

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