Customer Reviews

Asperger's and Self-Esteem: Insight and Hope through Famous Role Models

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This book is very well written and gives a good broad view of Asperger's Syndrome (as opposed to "Classic Autism"). As someone on the Autism Spectrum, knowing that on one side is "Severe Classic Autism" which most people think of when thinking of autism... and on the other end are those like Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, and myself who all have Asperger's Syndrome... shows that the Spectrum is VERY WIDE. I have both a Doctorate of Divinity and a PhD in Psychology. Both are "abstract" and not "scientific" (most "Aspies" tend to be VERY STRONG in the sciences, and of course by definition are VERY DETAIL ORIENTATED). One must clearly differentiate between "Classic Autism" and "Asperger's Syndrome"... those with CA are VERY DIFFERENT than someone with AS...as this book plainly shows, in investigating famous people with the particular form of Autism on the Autism Spectrum known as Asperger's Syndrome. I also recommend Notm Ledgin's "Diagnosing Jefferson" (ISBN: 1-88-5477-60-0), which is also published by Future Horizons... which like this book discusses a famous person with Asperger's Syndrome, but since it is on a single subject, it goes into MUCH MORE DETAIL in showing the very strong Asperger's traits that the third President of the United States of America had. This shows how someone with high functioning Asperger's Syndrome can function, even as the author of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of American... and even as President of the United States. So families with children with Asperger's Syndrome and those with Asperger's Syndrome can find much hope and information in these two books.

I'm very sorry that the autistic person who wrote the last review feels this book is misleading. His information about Einstein's brain is, first of all, erronious. To quote the BBC: "Scientists at McMaster University, Ontario, Canada compared the shape and size Einstein's brain with those of 35 men and 56 women with average intelligence.

They think their findings may well explain his genius for mathematical and spatial thinking.

In general, Einstein's brain was the same as all the others except in one particular area - the region responsible for mathematical thought and the ability to think in terms of space and movement. Extensive development of this region meant that Einstein's brain was 15% wider than the other brains studied.

Uniquely, Einstein's brain also lacked a groove that normally runs through part of this area. The researchers suggest that its absence may have allowed the neurons to communicate much more easily."

Anyone who has read a thorough account of Einstein's childhood and later life can attest that the evidence is overwhelming that this man was indeed autistic. Not all autistic children start out talking and then stop, as the reviewer stated. That is only true in what is known as "Regressive autism" or "Autism syndrome", not classical autism as defined by Kanner in the 1940's. The fact that Einstein had friends is a testament to his brilliance and contributions to science -- not to a lack of autism. The truth is that Einstein had a miserable, friendless childhood; was considered extremely odd by his peers, and, at first, to be "an imbecile" by teachers.

People with high-functioning autism and Asperger's can and do get married all the time. I am married to a man with (previously undiagnosed) Asperger's. He is an engineer. One of my best friends is also married to a man with Asperger's. He is a CPA. My six-year-old son is high-functioning autistic, and though it has taken a great deal of time and effort, he is a brilliant child who is blossoming into a wonderful, lively little boy who is finally starting to make friends. Donna Williams is a very creative and successful autistic person who is married.

I can think of several other contemporary examples of successful autistic people. Temple Grandin, Raun Kaufman, Stephen Shore, and twins Stephen and Phillip Morgan come to mind.

I don't discount the pain that people with HFA and Asperger's Syndrome experience. In fact, as the mother of an autistic child, I greatly sympathize with and respect it. Every one of those people I listed experienced it. But there is the issue of positive attitude and perseverance. Those people had it. Norm Ledgin's book is attempting to help autistic people with that. If you don't want to listen, fine, but please don't impede others who are looking for hope and insight on how to achieve a happy, fulfilling life.

Well written, absorbing, sensible and much needed. Mr Ledgin examines the possibility that some of histories most loved and respected artists, musicians, and scientists may well have been on the autistic spectrum, and quite possibly achieved what they did not just despite their differences but perhaps even because of them.

This book is not so much an attempt to diagnose famous historical figures as a sincere look at what traits these people had in common with the autistic spectrum, the objective being to remind those who receive this diagnosis, their families and their schools, that having difficulties with some things doesn't mean you lack potential or talent. There are drawbacks to this approach, but if you find yourself curious then you will probably find this easy read both enjoyable and interesting.

Since this book was published there have been many copy cats, so despite the controversy and criticism it seems to have become quite a legitimate practice to speculate over the possibility of famously talented but troubled individuals having been autistic. I think it is a sign of the general prejudice toward autistic people that so many people are disgusted by the suggestion and of the general ignorance about autism that so many people laugh at the suggestion.

This is a brilliant book. What a marvelous job of forensic biography. Mr Ledgin continues to unravel the mysteries of Asperger's and of some of the people who have it . As a person who has always been considered "different" but who has accomplished a lot, it is marvelous to see that there are others who are "different" yet who have accomplished great things. An extraordinary book

This is a lively, entertaining and obviously provocative book. Whether you endorse or denounce post mortme diagnoses of AS,one has to admit that soem famous thinkers have had traits consistent with AS. A whole host of thinkers are listed from science, the arts, music and even the theatre. Some of the choices are likely to be more controversial than others, but I won't comment on that.

My major concern with such a book is that it is always open to the charge of selectivity. The fact that someone had traits consistent with AS does not allow us to derive the conclusion that they had AS. To be fair to the author, he does make comemnts to this effect in the beginning.

The strength of the book is that is in inspirational. You to can succeed if you have AS. The weaknesse is that skirts the argument that you should only conclude AS when the 'AS traits' interfere with a person's abliity to cope. In other words, Asperger syndrome is only a problem when it is a problem.

Nevertheless the book gives us plenty of food for thought. I hope that the author will produce another with more forensic detail however.

In his book, Asperger's and Self-Esteem, Norm Ledgin offers a new thought toward comfort and hope for those diagnosed with the syndrome. His idea developed as he reviewed the life of his old friend, Thomas Jefferson. Observing the many eccentricities of Jefferson, he realized how like they are to the symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome.

Ledgin has compiled chapters featuring well-known, accomplished people who also express unique personalities. This book brings a new perspective to what is often a very lonely life. Those with Asperger's can read the book and begin exploring areas they had not realized existed for them

Making the point that someone quirky can still be an achiever, Norm Ledgin has selected 13 famous figures from the 18th through 20th Centuries who had all the earmarks of Asperger's. They succeeded nonetheless. I doubt there's a young person with such a condition out there who will fail to draw comfort and inspiration from this book. As a teacher, I know how tough it is to inspire, but Asperger's and Self-Esteem does that.

Utterly fascinating! Certainly explains the "unusual" traits of some very famous people. A must read for relatives of those afflicted with Asperger's Syndrome.

Mr. Ledgin uses the criteria for Asperger's from the DSM-IV to theorize that famous men and women from the past may have had Asperger's Syndrome. He includes people such as Orson Welles, Marie Curie, and Charles Darwin in his theory. This book was great reading for my 16 year old Asperger son, giving him hope for his future and reassuring him that he can accomplish whatever he wants in his life. Also, that being the "oddball" in his class may not be a bad thing.

This was not a bad book and I did enjoy reading most parts of it however I wish the words "Self Esteem" were omitted from the title because it implied this book would include "Insight and Hope" if not practical ways to integrate self-esteem into the lives of someone with AS. Instead it was more like a series of portraits of famous people with (or who MAY have had) Asperger's with (in my opinion) not enough mention of how their accomplishments relate to our self esteem.

Maybe I'm a little disappointed with this book because self-esteem is a real problem for people with AS. With society's overall disdain of anyone "different" we need all the practical real-world help we can get - especially from wonderful people like Norm Ledgin who obviously cared enough to write a book to help people with AS! Unfortunately, in my experience, insights and hope have been fleeting at best.

It was a nicely written book with examples of amazing historically noted (many musically-inclined) people who made it. "These people did great things so you can too!" I got that message very clearly and they are all fine examples whether they had AS or not. Norm's wife Marsha's illustrations throughout the book were very enjoyable.