I Don't Want to Be Inside Me Anymore: Messages from an Autistic Mind [Hardcover]

Birger Sellin (Author), Anthea Bell (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1995

Judged incurably autistic, mute since the age of two, Sellin astonished the world when, at the age of 18, he began to express himself in writing, pouring out thoughts and feelings that no one suspected he understood. The uncompromisingly honest messages he sends to "humanity without me" will touch the lives of everyone who reads them.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Sellin is a 21-year-old autistic German who has written a slender volume of epigrammatic musings using the technique of facilitated communication (FC), a method whereby the autistic person types messages, one letter at a time, with one finger, using a "facilitator" to support the elbow or arm. Originating with Dr. Douglas Biklen of Syracuse University several years ago, this easily learned technique offered hope to parents who thought that they could finally know their children's thoughts and feelings. Unfortunately, the Facilitated Communication Institute and Syracuse University are the targets of lawsuits following numerous studies that showed only negative findings for FC. As a result, the American Psychological Association has stated that FC is not a suitable treatment for autism. Consequently, what is one to make of Sellin's book? It will likely generate a lot of press, for the parents of autistic children will be loathe to give up their hopes. Moreover, a film about Sellin is being made. Recommended for professionals in special education and mental health or psychology.
Nina Wikstrom Aguilar, MLS, Melbourne, Fla.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (April 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465031722
• ISBN-13: 978-0465031726
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,490,334 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I Don't Want To Read These Books Anymore, May 1, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: I Don't Want to Be Inside Me Anymore: Messages from an Autistic Mind (Hardcover)

The introduction to this book extols the amazing breakthrough of facilitated communication, which has supposedly enabled Birger Sellin, a severely autistic and non-verbal young man, to communicate the genius trapped inside him in the ensuing poems.

It omits to mention that every controlled study of facilitated communication has found that the messages almost invariably (more than 99% of the time) come from the hand of the facilitator, holding the autistic person's hand over a keyboard, in some cases forcibly, not from the person with autism.

In passing, the introduction casually mentions that since facilitated communication was started with Birger Sellin, his screaming fits, tantrums, and other displays of extreme distress seem to be getting worse, especially when he is "typing". No one around him seems to have wondered why.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An extraordinary inside view of autism; compelling must-read, March 16, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Indiana, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Don't Want to Be Inside Me Anymore: Messages from an Autistic Mind (Hardcover)

Well worth waiting for Amazon to locate! I'm the mom of a 5 yr old blind autistic daughter who has only recently begun to connect to the world. This book has been a blessing in terms of helping us understand the unique lonliness of the autistic condition and gives profound insight into the emotional experience of a nonverbal autistic person. I highly recommend this book for anyone who cares about an autistic person. It is not an easy read-- often painful and disturbing.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Politics aside, Birger's writing is moving, deep, powerful., October 3, 2005

By 

Mark Twain - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Don't Want to Be Inside Me Anymore: Messages from an Autistic Mind (Hardcover)

The world of facilitated communication is certainly one of controversy and Birger's writing add to that controversy. But FC has been used for years with those with impulse control disorders who have Cerebral Palsy. Many in that group were considered for decades to be mentall retarded and incapable of their communications using assisted typing as is the case with FC. The real question is not whether FC is a valid communication for some people but whether, like those with CP, some severely autistic people can be deemed to have impulse control disorders such as Dyspraxia, OCD or Tourette's and this is certainly the case that whilst many, especially at the more able end of the spectrum, do not, others certainly do. The other question is whether someone with Autism who has a severe impulse control disorder can also be as intelligent, deep and artistic as any person with CP who uses FC to express the same things. Quite simply, if we assume they don't then we are committing the same sin society committed in the dark past against those with CP and the deaf. Whatever you think of the politics or your own take on autism, it is still possible to acknowlege that someone with a severe impulse control disorder and autism may feel they suffer more from their autism than someone who does have control of their body, their movements, their communication. Birger's poetry in that context is an appeal to humanity to listen to a trapped intelligence and passion. If we put our politics aside, maybe we'll here not the disability, but the person.