Raising Cubby

[Serenity]

I'm an avid reader with many titles catching my eye.  The most recent one was "Raising Cubby" by John Elder Robison, a fellow Mass. resident.  Apparently, his entire family has a variety of issues including Autism spectrum disorders.  He is Autistic and "Aspergian."  So is his son, whom he calls "Cubby."  This book traces the journey of an Autistic father and son.  It begins with the notation of the Mass. law on felony explosive use, how Cubby stood trial for it as a result of (to him) harmless scientific experimentation with  explosives; then goes back in time to talk about the father's childhood, then the journey of an father and son, both with Asperger's.  

Read by the author (I chose an audio book) this is an excellent tale, admittedly from his perspective.  I admit I found his lack of understanding of various life experiences puzzling, but the father IS on the Autism spectrum so there we have it.  

There were times I found myself wondering "WHO is RAISING this child?" because I cannot imagine allowing a young teen to move away from both parents to (somehow) live in town by himself.  But not having Aspergers and not having an Aspergian child, I'm probably clueless about the though process involved. Further, we later find that Cubby's mother called "Little Bear" also has autism and a bit of hoarding going on.  It is quite a study of OCD, social disconnection, incapacity to see past obsession, brilliance, and individuals who can excel while being very different from the norm. 

It is an excellent read and I've ordered other books from the library (I rarely purchase books unless they are for study) by the same author as well as one of the books by his brother.  If interested in captivating books on non-fiction issues - this one Autism - I highly recommend this author and this book.  

Having read "Born on a Blue Day," the autobiography of an English Autistic Savant (Daniel Tammet) I thought "Raising Cubby" would be a good choice, and I was right. :)

[rapa]

The subject interests me.  Thanks for the recommendation.

Again, Welcome to BOOKOHOLICS!!!!! 

[Serenity]

Thanks much, Rapa! :)

[Lip Service]

Serenity (AKA Celtic Autumn) this is a difficult subject even for the professionals. Recently the diagnosis of Asperger has been absorbed into autism as a special form of it.

Parents having to deal with an autistic child are severely challenged. I know one such family and it is very hard. The child needs affection but does not allow himself to be touched. Those who have the condition and were articulate enough to be able to describe it, say that for the person with autism everything is extremely exaggerated, all noises are extremely loud all light is extremely bright. They want to turn the outside world down or shut it off because it is hurting them.

The best person who described that condition is Temple Grandin who is very intelligent and was lucky to have had people to help her when she was growing up, they did so by instinct there was no understanding of that condition then. She went on to be a PhD. Although her effort helped greatly those dealing with autism, her biggest contribution is help redesign the corrals in the slaughterhouses to make it less stressful on the cattle. Here is the wiki article on her.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Grandin

You might want to read her autobiography or watch the movie that is based on it, it was able to faithfully convey the message of the book.

Another source you might consider is the following book:

http://www.amazon.com/Curious-Incident-Dog-Night-Time/dp/1400032717/

It is a work of fiction but the author must know something about the topic because he described it very well

(not sure why part of this message are coming out in bold I did not intend that)

[Serenity]

I am quite familiar with Temple Grandin. I find her very interesting. My late husband was on the Autism spectrum and I also work with a hard of hearing/legally blind man on the spectrum who is brilliant, but needs help interfacing with NTs like me. I am aware Autism is being merged into the diagnostic spectrum. We'll see how that goes and whether it emerges again. :)

[officerripley]

Great post, Serenity; thanks.  I read Robinson's earlier book Look Me in the Eye.  He's the elder brother of author Augusten Burroughs who has written books about their abusive, alcolholic father (Wolf at the Dinnertable is one, I think it's called).  So Robinson being born on the autism spectrum may not be the only cause (or the cause at all) of some his lack of understanding of various life experience or childraising choices; it could be the horrific childhood he and his brother both experienced.  (By all reports, their father was a total jerk.)

[Serenity]

Indeed, the family is quite troubled, also brilliant. Father became better in later years after he stopping drinking per the Cubby book. Noted that they all have some level of OCD as well. That includes Little Bear and her hoarding. There is a lot more maladaptive behavior in this world than we are generally aware of.