Beyond the Wall: Personal Experiences with Autism and Asperger Syndrome

By
Stephen Shore.
Jessica Kingsley Publishing
£13.95
ISBN 0 9672514 8 6

Stephen Shore views autism not as a disorder,
but as “a way of being”. Diagnosed as autistic when he was two, he
was four before he could speak. Nevertheless, his intellectual
development took off. He graduated from high school, gained two
bachelor’s degrees and a master’s degree in business management.
Now 40 years old, Shore is working on his doctorate.

In this autobiography he explores experiences
of autism – painful memories of early schooling, terrors of his
middle school, the rewards of college, problems in holding down a
job and 10 years of marriage. He narrates his life story through
three voices. His first voice is that of diarist and his second
voice a reflection on life events. With his third voice he
supplements his story from research.

His lack of social skills betrayed him. In his
first job he could not grasp what was expected of him and when
fired from that job could not understand what had caused his
employer to dismiss him. His next employers were more tolerant but
he only found real satisfaction when he was accepted by Boston
University on its doctoral programme. This painful but exhilarating
story reveals how much more there is to learn about autism.

Oliver Russell is a consultant
psychiatrist.