Natural Genius: The Gifts of Asperger's Syndrome [Paperback]

Susan Rubinyi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 30, 2007 | ISBN-10: 1843107848 | ISBN-13: 978-1843107842 | Edition: 1

Raising a child with Asperger's Syndrome (AS) can be a great struggle and an exhausting fight for the rights of someone who is both gifted and different. In "Natural Genius: The Gifts of Asperger's Syndrome", Susan Rubinyi tells the story of raising her son, Ben and how she came to view his AS, and the gifts that come with it, as a blessing. Rather than examining the negatives and difficulties, she emphasizes the extraordinary positives of her son's life - his photographic memory, perfect pitch and French-English bilingual abilities. Advocating a strengths-based approach, Susan Rubinyi explains how her background in foreign language, science fiction and music, as well as her own feelings of alienation, have helped her to understand alternative and cross-cultural perspectives in life. Her journey with Ben is an enriching and strengthening one of personal transformation. An immensely hopeful and positive book, this should be read by anyone wishing to perceive and encourage the great rewards that lie within the challenges of Asperger's Syndrome.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Susan Rubinyi is the mother of a son who has Asperger's Syndrome. She also has an eclectic background in foreign language, science fiction and music. Fluent in four languages, she has worked extensively in cross-cultural areas such as language teaching, interpreting, translating and writing. She co-edited one of the first feminist science-fiction anthologies, administered a university Women's Studies program, and has written several articles and a book on fantasy and science fiction.

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Pub; 1 edition (January 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843107848
• ISBN-13: 978-1843107842
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,059,755 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, March 4, 2007

By 

Careful-thinker, Ph.D. (Mt. Vernon, WA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Natural Genius: The Gifts of Asperger's Syndrome (Paperback)

I found this to be a very honest and engaging account of the challenges involved in raising a young person with Asperger's. Particularly striking was the difficulty of working with the public schools. As well as how to treat what is 'neuroatypical' as a gift. I have nothing but compassion and respect for this Mother who has devotedly helped her son and now all who read this memorable book.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Long & Winding Road, June 25, 2007

By 

BeatleBangs1964 (United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Natural Genius: The Gifts of Asperger's Syndrome (Paperback)

This is one of the best accounts by a parent of a child with Asperger's that I have EVER read! Ben Rubinyi was born on October 14, 1986 when autism/Aspeger's (a/A) spectrum awareness was just taking off. A gifted child whose parents were also blessed with high intellect, Ben was raised in a bilingual household. He was fluent in French and English. He is also a skilled and natural musician with excellent taste - he is a Beatles' and Woody Guthrie fan!

I loved it when author Susan Rubinyi shared how she and Ben loved Bill Staines and found spiritual comfort in his music. I have seen Staines perform and he is truly special.

Ben's early behavior did not sound like severe spectrum behavior from the telling. He was literal in his speech; by the time he started school, he would simply leave to find his father who taught in a nearby building. Educated in French and American schools, the brilliant boy with the flair for languages showed a typical autistic pattern in referring to himself as "tu" (French for 'you') when meaning himself. In some ways, Ben's thinking was described as rigid.

After several years of wrangling and wrestling with the Oregon school district in which he was a student, Ben's mother tried other methods, including home schooling. A gifted music teacher named Dave entered their lives as her marriage was coming to an end and Ben's aides were presenting challenges of their own, including one aide who betrayed the family by acting as a school district "double agent." Dave, also a Beatles' fan introduced Ben to Beatles conventions and it was at the 2001 Beatles convention that Ben got to shine.

Ben's behavior reached crisis proportions in 1998 when he was obsessed with tearing leaves off of trees to "make the seasons go by faster." He would even try to get out of the car to follow this passion and went so far as to demolish a neighbor's trees. Sadly, this behavior led to Ben serving two hospital sentences after 4 horrifying episodes in emergency rooms. The treatment Ben was subjected to was appalling. The second sentence he served was at Los Angeles' NeuroPsychiatric Institute.

Once he served his sentence there, he was educated in Los Angeles. Susan Rubinyi had an ambivilent relationship with her native city, leaving at an early age with no intention of ever returing. Ironically, her Long & Winding Road led her back to her girlhood home. In time, she makes peace with her past and with Ben's uncertain present. The two, like John Lennon learn to "Give Peace a Chance." Ben's love of maps led to a job making films; Susan learned about other components of her life, including spiritual as well as intellectual. The two Come Together on their Long & Winding Roads. Through the use of skilled therapists and brilliant interpretations of their dreams (which makes me think of "Number 9 Dream" by John Lennon), the components of their lives; new adustments, e.g. end of a marriage and moving out of state do Come Together as they get by with a little help from their friends.

I loved Ben's insights; this brilliant young man with the extraordinary memory is truly a gift and a mitzvah. The Beatles were good for Ben; their music helped remove rigid mental walls in his thinking. For example, Ben was able to shift from playing one song to another when an unexpected change in plans came up. He also gave a well thought out answer for how he got into the Beatles at age 10. I just loved that part!

I loved the part where he regaled audiences at the Beatles' convention with his brilliant, flawless playing and the talk he gave to people about his experience with Asperger's. One of my favorite parts in the book was when Susan Rubinyi said that by following your child's special interests, you just might tap into talents and interests you didn't know you had or had been lying dormant.

This book is a Godsend, a mitzvah and one everybody needs. Like the Beatles said in 1967, "All You Need is Love" and I just LOVE this book!

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Natural Genius Is A Very Disappointing Book, June 26, 2007

By 

Mary P. Farleigh "Involved Parent" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Natural Genius: The Gifts of Asperger's Syndrome (Paperback)

As a mother of a son with Asperger's I thought this book would be highly informative. Instead I found the mother to be completely self absorbed and I could not relate to her at all. She never discussed the toll her son's condition took on her marriage, the monetary cost of this condition, any therapies she tried for her son and various other topics that all parents of a child with a disability ask themselves. There weren't even any quotes from the child so we could see what was possibly going through his mind. There was nothing uplifting about this book and I was very disappointed.