Rethinking autism through the prism of neurodiversity

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Not everything that steps out of line, and thus 'abnormal', must necessarily be 'inferior.'- Dr. Hans Asperger (1938)

As a longtime journalist with Wired magazine, Steve Silberman was used to spotting trends in California's Silicon Valley... but perhaps none as important as this one:

Twelve years ago he kept noticing that there were clusters of children with autism in Silicon Valley communities where software engineers and I.T. employees livedand that began a decade-long quest to understand the nature and origin of autism.

"Great minds don't always think alike."- Steve Silberman on neurodiversity and approaching autism differently

Now he's published a book of his findings.It's titled "NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity." In it, Steve Silbermanargues that autism should be viewed not as an epidemic, but as a different way of thinking. He joinedAnna Maria fromSan Francisco.

Webchat withMargaretSpoelstra fromAutism Ontario

After talking to SteveSilbermanon looking at new ways to approach autism, we thought this would make for a greatlive discussion. We hosted a live webchatwith MargaretSpoelstra, the Executive Director of Autism Ontario to look at approaching autism different. She's a special education teacher by training, and has spent the past 35 years working with individuals with a variety of special needs, especially autism.