Woof! John Elder Robison, Living Boldly as a "Free-Range Aspergian"

Steve Silberman:

John Elder Robison would stand out in a crowd even if he didn't have Asperger syndrome. A gruff, powerfully built, tirelessly curious, blue-eyed bear of a man, he hurtles down a San Diego sidewalk toward a promising Mexican restaurant like an unstoppable force of nature. "What's keepin' you stragglers?" he calls back to the shorter-legged ambulators dawdling in his wake.

As they catch up, Robison utters his all-purpose sound of approval -- "Woof!" -- which he utters often, being a man in his middle years who is finally at peace with himself after a difficult coming-of-age. For the acclaimed author of the 2007 New York Times bestseller Look Me in the Eye, a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder in mid-life was liberating, giving a name to the nagging feeling that he was somehow different from nearly everyone around him.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at May 22, 2011 1:44 AM
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