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REVIEWSfrom page 8translator of German texts.Paradiz also wri testh e autism-induced experi-that will seem familiar to- the fear tha t you aren't aenough parent; the appre-that develops when rou-aren't followed and you ris rising; deal-g with teasing; answer ing inces-

questions from a persistentprecocious mind; and per-rituals that don ' t m aketo m a n y of the neurotypi-of the world (e.g., buy in g bal-in order to release them).

Our collective experience, asof children on the aut ismis wide and rich, asthe experienceof parents of typ-children. Elijah's Cup, oftenin a poetic style, providese mother 's acute account of thisand her entrance intoe culture of aut i sm. Whether,d to w hat extent , one joins thisor takes this perspective,Cup pushes th e reader toview of aut ist ic per-and the un ique qual i t ies theyall other people) possess.account, itself a piece ofe culture of aut ism, is a w o r th ynd compelling cont r ibu t ion .

Check it out!ASCEND offers an extensivelending library. Our membershave access to more than 30books, videos and audio CDsabout Asperger Syndrome andrelated topics. Donations aregreatly appreciated! To findout more about the ASCENDlending library, contact KathyBarry at 610/789-0450 orkbarryl016@yahoo.com.

AMERICAN NORMAL:The Hidden World of AspergerSyndromeLawrence OsborneCopernicus Books22 4 pp, $27.50Contributed by Andrew MilnerAsperger Syndrome was onlyofficially recognized as a mentaldisorder in the mid-1990s. Peoplewith AS - believed to be a variantof autism - usually have high IQ's,an obsessive focus of interest onone subject, poor motor coordina-tion and a lack of social skills,reason enough it's called the "geeksyndrome" (Full disclosure: Mymother had Asperger studentswhile a grade school teacher, andseveral members of my familyactually have AS). Most of theAsperger li terature so far has beendiagnostic, aimed at Aspergerchildren or their parents, with lit-tle written for the general reader.

Lawrence Osborne, who writesfo r the New York Times Magazine.attempts to make AS unde rstand-able to the public.Unfortunately,American Normal is a major disap-pointment, at its best patronizingtowards those with the syndrome,at its worst dishonest. You finishthis book knowing less aboutAsperger Syndrome than whenyou started.

Osborne treks across NorthAmerica, interviewing peoplewith AS. While there's an entirespectrum of Asperger behavior, hefocuses only on the most eccentricand borderline pathological peo-ple with R a i n Man-like mentalabilities and disturbing behavior.We see Darius McCollum, whoseobsession with New York City

subways drove him to repeatedly^impersonate Transit Autho rityengineers (he eventually went toprison) and Maria Conn, adespondent Montreal woman("I love numbers. Numbers forme are a replacement for people.I hate people"). Parents of ASchildren are shown at a St. Louisconference frivolously throwingaround euphemisms (whatOsborne dismisses as "corporatelingo whose vocabulary (is)relentlessly technical... the childis seen simply as a machine thathas gone wrong"); we don't seethe legions of ASparents who bat-tle school districts to ensure evenminimal support for their kids.

Not only does Osborne writeabout AS people condescendingly,he can't even be trusted on mat-ters of fundamental accuracy.Hequotes Asperger poet Dave Spiceras saying "My dad was an alco-holic," which Spicer has sincedenied. Osborne writes that Spicerworks at a library, while Spicer infact lives on d i sab i l i t y benefits.And Osborne also misquotesthe fiction of Asperger writerJonathan Mitchell; given thatMitchell's stories are online, themisquoting is even more pathetic.When he gets so many basic factswrong, he forfeits his right tohave his overall thesis (i.e."IfAsperger's is partially a culture- 'bound syndrome ... then the ivlcuring of it must also entail a

" 'itgreat effor t of the culture itself)taken seriously With friends like :|Osborne, Asperger Syndrome ,i|doesn't need enemies.Reprinted with permission o f author ; - j j j lfrom th e 12/4-11/02 issue ofPhiladelphia City P a p e r .