★《背離親緣》作者安德魯．所羅門、《安靜，就是力量》作者蘇珊．坎恩、《賈伯斯傳》作者華特．艾薩克森、《星星的孩子》作者天寶．葛蘭丁盛情推薦！
★已授權英、美、荷、巴

距今近七十五年前，美國密西西比州福瑞斯特鎮的唐納．崔普雷（Donald Triplett）成為世界上第一名被診斷為自閉症的兒童。本書追溯這個診斷創造出的巨大影響，交織出一個扣人心弦，橫跨不同大陸、歷經二十世紀多次重大社會運動的人性史詩。

自閉症的歷史，首先必是關於那些為自己的孩子在世界奮力爭取一席安身立命之處的家庭；也包括像茹絲．蘇利文（Ruth Sullivan）這樣的女性，在醫學將自閉症歸咎於「冰箱媽媽」（refrigerator mothers）或冷淡的母子關係時，站出來反抗嚴重不公的污名；也包括那些持續敦促科學家挖掘療法的父親，或嚴正要求公立學校接納孩子的家長。

許多其他的角色也佔據歷史舞台的中心位置：像是開創世人對自閉症了解的先驅康納醫師（Leo Kanner），為自閉症療法意見分歧、爭辯不休的科學家，還有自閉症的患者本身，如作家天寶．葛蘭丁（Temple Grandin）、自閉症自我權利促進網（Autism Self Advocacy Networks）發起人阿里．尼厄曼（Ari Ne’eman），努力向世人說明他們的內心世界，並大力鼓吹「神經多元性」（neurodiversity）哲學。

自閉症的歷史亦是一個激烈爭議不斷的故事，從是否存在自閉症「傳染病」，到疫苗是否為自閉症的成因，到涉及曾紅極一時的「促進溝通訓練法」（facilitated communication）的醜聞，及其他最終證明成效有限的治療法。這其中不乏諸多黑暗歷史，我們得知曾有將迷幻藥（LSD）給予自閉症兒童的實驗，或者對其施以電擊以改變行為。本書作者更首度揭露，亞斯伯格症的發現者漢斯．亞斯伯格（Hans Asperger）可能曾與納粹合作使殘疾兒童致死的駭人事實。

《In a Different Key》研究縝密，流暢來回於微觀與宏觀敘事之間，帶領我們走過一充滿情感與衝突的更迭歷史，從自閉症兒家庭被羞辱，自閉症兒童被強送到特殊機構處置的年代，到一個家長與自閉者不只爭取包容接納，更呼籲對自閉症要有全新的理解的時代：自閉是差異（difference），而非失能殘疾（disability）。本書不只一本對必須面對自閉症者的無價指南書，更是一則發人深省的故事，道出眾多個人的貢獻如何織就對人性更深更廣的理解與實踐！

 

JOHN DONVAN is a multiple Emmy Award-winning correspondent for ABC and the moderator of the Intelligence Squared U.S. debate series. CAREN ZUCKER is a Peabody award-winning television news producer with ABC and PBS, where she produced and co-wrote the six-part PBS series “Autism Now.”

 

“In this absorbing book, John Donvan and Caren Zucker provide a comprehensive history of autism: identifying records that point toward the existence of the condition long before it was named; unpacking the evolution of the diagnosis; chronicling the history of blame attached to it; and narrating its explosion as one of the most common syndromes among children today. Fast-paced and far-reaching, this book contextualizes the arguments that autism is a horrifying epidemic with those that say it is a valuable aspect of human diversity. This is an important missing piece to the conversation about autism; no one trying to make sense of the spectrum should do so without reading this book.”—ANDREW SOLOMON, author of Far from the Tree

“Donvan and Zucker’s generous yet sharp-eyed portraits of men, women, and children—most of them unknown until now—make it stunningly clear that we all have a stake in the story of autism. We come to understand that we are all wired differently, and that how we treat those who are different than most is a telling measure of who we truly are. This is the kind of history that not only informs but enlarges the spirit.”—SUSAN CAIN, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

"Sweeping in scope but with intimate personal stories, this is a deeply moving book about the history, science, and human drama of autism. It's also something larger: a fascinating exploration of a social movement that grappled with the mysteries of mind, behavior, and the relationship between parents and children."—WALTER ISAACSON, author of The Innovators and Steve Jobs