Be Different: Adventures of a Free-Range Aspergian with Practical Advice for Aspergians, Misfits, Families & Teachers [Hardcover]

John Elder Robison (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 22, 2011

“I believe those of us with Asperger’s are here for a reason, and we have much to offer. This book will help you bring out those gifts.”
 
In his bestselling memoir, Look Me in the Eye, John Elder Robison described growing up with Asperger’s syndrome at a time when the diagnosis didn’t exist. He was intelligent but socially isolated; his talents won him jobs with toy makers and rock bands but did little to endear him to authority figures and classmates, who were put off by his inclination to blurt out non sequiturs and avoid eye contact.

By the time he was diagnosed at age forty, John had already developed a myriad of coping strategies that helped him achieve a seemingly normal, even highly successful, life. In Be Different, Robison shares a new batch of endearing stories
about his childhood, adolescence, and young adult years, giving the reader a rare window into the Aspergian mind.

In each story, he offers practical advice—for Aspergians and indeed for anyone who feels “different”—on how to improve the weak communication and social skills that keep so many people from taking full advantage of their often remarkable gifts. With his trademark honesty and unapologetic eccentricity, Robison addresses questions like:

• How to read others and follow their behaviors when in uncertain social situations
• Why manners matter
• How to harness your powers of concentration to master difficult skills
• How to deal with bullies
• When to make an effort to fit in, and when to embrace eccentricity
• How to identify special gifts and use them to your advantage

Every person, Aspergian or not, has something unique to offer the world, and every person has the capacity to create strong, loving bonds with their friends and family. Be Different will help readers and those they love find their path to success.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“For anyone who has difficulty fitting in, this book is fantastic.”
—Temple Grandin, author of Thinking in Pictures
 
“In a love poem to his wife, Pedro Salinas, the Spanish poet, wrote, ‘Glory to the differences / between you and me.’ John Robison teaches us to celebrate differences
like Salinas did, but also offers clear insight and valuable advice on how to cope with the challenges that being different can create. This book transcends the specific case of Asperger’s syndrome and is a lesson in humanity and the human condition.”
—Alvaro Pascual-Leone, M.D., Ph.D., Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
 
“Anyone with Asperger’s, if not everyone else, will derive knowledge and pleasure from the wonderful stories told in John Elder Robison’s newest book, Be Different. Clearly, John is one of our community’s leading voices.”
—Michael John Carley, author of Asperger’s from the Inside Out and executive director of GRASP and ASTEP
 
“Be Different is a fascinating and unique guide for young people who may be struggling with autism and feel ‘out of sync’ with the world around them. John shares personal insights about growing up, feeling apart from his peers, and learning to modify his socializing skills and harness his gifts to discover his path to a successful life.”
—Mark Roithmayr, president of Autism Speaks
 
“Robison offers down-to-earth life advice for his “Aspie” peers and their friends, families, and teachers...recommended reading for anyone seeking to understand Aspergian children and adults” —Kirkus

" ...provides incredibly helpful advice to families learning to live with these challenges. Robison’s clear writing provides substantial insight into the mind of someone whose disorder makes clarity very, very difficult...a valuable read."‬--Booklist

About the Author

JOHN ELDER ROBISON is an author and frequent lecturer about his life with Asperger’s. He blogs for Psychology Today and is an adjunct faculty member at Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts. John serves on committees and review boards for the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health. He is currently involved in autism research and therapy programs at Harvard’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Massachusetts General Hospital. John also sits on the science and treatment boards of Autism Speaks. His previous book, Look Me in the Eye, was a New York Times bestseller and has been translated into ten languages. He lives in Amherst, Massachusetts. Visit him at www.johnrobison.com.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Crown (March 22, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307884813
• ISBN-13: 978-0307884817
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 1.2 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (95 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #67,354 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #94 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Children's Health > Autism & Asperger's Syndrome

More About the Author

John Elder Robison is a free range Aspergian male who grew up in the 1960s before the Asperger diagnosis came into common use. After dropping out of high school, John worked in the music business where he created sound effects and electronic devices, including the signature illuminated, smoking, and rocket firing guitars he built for KISS. Later John worked on some of the first video games and talking toys at Milton Bradley. After a ten year career in electronics John founded Robison Service, a specialty automobile company in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Robison Service grew to be one of the largest independent restoration and service specialists for BMW, Bentley, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes, and Rolls Royce cars. The company has become one of the top-ranked Bosch Car Service centers in North America.

However, that wasn't enough. John wanted to do more; to find a way to give something back to other misfit kids who struggle to find their way in the world. Inspired by the reception of his brother's book Running With Scissors, John began speaking to groups of young people, and a year or two later, he decided to write a book. That book, Look Me in the Eye, was an instant bestseller.

John was launched on a new career, in addition to his successful car company.

When he's not at Robison Service, John now serves as an adjunct faculty in the department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts. He has served as a panel member for the Institute for Autism Research, The Centers for Disease Control, The National Institutes of Mental Health and Autism Speaks. John is involved in TMS autism research at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and serves on the advisory board for Mass General Hospital's YouthCare program.

John is very active in his efforts to support and promote research leading to therapies or treatments that will improve the lives of people who live with autism in all its forms today. John is widely known as an advocate for people with autism and neurological differences.

John is the author of Look Me in the Eye, my life with Asperger's, and Be Different, Adventures of a free-range Aspergian. John's writing has been translated into ten languages and his work is sold in over 60 countries. His writing also appears in a number of magazines and he's a regular blogger on Psychology Today.

In addition to his autism advocacy work, John is a lifelong car enthusiast, an avid hiker, a photographer, a music lover, and a world-class champion eater. He lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Find John on the web:
www.robisonservice.com - the car company
www.johnrobison.com - John's personal site
jerobison.blogspot.com - John's blog
JohnElderRobison - on Facebook
@johnrobison - on Twitter

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 63 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening the nypicals who seek to understand Aspergians March 23, 2011

By Sandra W. Sutherland

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

John Elder Robison has spent his life teaching himself to compensate for his own lack of social skills due to living with Asperger's Syndrome. His first book, "Look Me in the Eye" includes stories of hilarity and pain, sometimes at his own expense. The response to these stories has surely far surpassed his expectations, as he quickly becomes looked to as "the guide" to parents' hopes and teachers' dreams. Seeing the need for more information, Robison offers to others the best understanding he has developed about autistic thinking throughout a life span in his new book, "Be Different".

"Be Different" offers deeper explanations of this thinking - at least as Robison has experienced it - as a child and as an adult. He reflects on how much easier his own life might have been if others had been there to guide him rather than punish him for unknown transgressions. In an attempt to enlighten those who are trying to desperately to understand, but who are handicapped by being "nypical" (non-Aspergians), he has answered some of the questions asked of him by the many caregivers and loved ones who now look to him for this guidance plus much more.

Robison has a knack for humor as he describes and analyzes events with explanations for his blank stares and misunderstandings due to differences in language interpretation. He refutes the idea that lack of response means lack of feelings, in fact, he states that the truth is quite the opposite. Some of the issues he discusses are as problematic to "nypicals" as they were to him, and his salient points apply to many children who are misunderstood by those who make assumptions instead of making the effort.

This book is a "must read" for anyone involved with loving or serving these children and who might recognized a hitherto misunderstood adult. It also might serve to enlighten related persons who need to forgive those who are not responsible for their condition. Robison's kind and wise views give heart from the heart.

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Unique Perspective on Being Different April 7, 2011

By Barbara Smith

Format:Hardcover

As an occupational therapist and parent of a young man with asperger's syndrome I have read numerous memoirs that never fail to reinforce how unique each person's challenges are. John has already established that he is a very good writer (it apparently runs in the family) and again shares intimate experiences and thoughts about his inner life and many coping strategies.

I tried reading some excerpts to my son who refused to listen. He does not like to hear the words "autism" or "aspergers"- illustating that while some "aspies" find solice in sharing their growing self-awareness, others just struggle to fit in the best they can and don't want to be reminded that they are indeed "different". Some of them will love this book, others won't.

Despite being a "nyptical", I found this book to be very readable, although I had occasional dejavu feelings that I had read some of the anectdotes before. The most striking one for me was the story of John's car accident. He was able to focus on taking steps to rescue a survivor without feeling the horror that might paralyze someone else. My son explained to me that his same ability will enable him to work in a medical setting amongst the sick and dying.

"Being Different" is not the kind of book that mesmerizes- but it is a pleasure to read one chapter a night and then process it over the next morning's commute. This book has a different focus than "Look Me In the Eye" did- with greater emphasis on how the author's emotional and sensory make-up makes him deal with life the way he does. Readers who are just learning about their Asperger's diagnosis or are learning how to understand their children's needs will appreciate this book. It is yet, one more insightful memoir packed with advice and resources.

Barbara A. Smith, M.S., author of The Recycling Occupational Therapist

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fills a niche no other book has - fantastic resource! March 30, 2011

By Morgan McConnell

Format:Hardcover

We have a big family with lots of "Aspie" traits, although most of us are very high-functioning and would fall through the cracks, diagnosis-wise. This book is a wonderful resource for us.
Mr. Robison explains certain behaviors so succinctly, we were laughing out loud in recognition and relief at having them explained so well. This book is invaluable to anyone interested in
the way the Aspie brain operates, and who would like some good advice on how to make positive use of this special way of thinking.