The Einstein Syndrome [Hardcover]

Thomas Sowell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2001

The Einstein Syndrome is a follow-up to Late-Talking Children, which established Thomas Sowell as a leading spokesman on the subject of late-talking children. While many children who talk late suffer from developmental disorders or autism, there is a certain well-defined group who are developmentally normal or even quite bright, yet who may go past their fourth birthday before beginning to talk. These children are often misdiagnosed as autistic or retarded, a mistake that is doubly hard on parents who must first worry about their apparently handicapped children and then see them lumped into special classes and therapy groups where all the other children are clearly very different.Since he first became involved in this issue in the mid-90s, Sowell has joined with Stephen Camarata of Vanderbilt University, who has conducted a much broader, more rigorous study of this phenomenon than the anecdotes reported in Late-Talking Children. Sowell can now identify a particular syndrome, a cluster of common symptoms and family characteristics, that differentiates these late-talking children from others; relate this syndrome to other syndromes; speculate about its causes; and describe how children with this syndrome are likely to develop.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Thomas Sowell is Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. He lives in Stanford, California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; First Edition edition (August 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465081401
• ISBN-13: 978-0465081400
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #115,059 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Thomas Sowell has taught economics at Cornell, UCLA, Amherst and other academic institutions, and his Basic Economics has been translated into six languages. He is currently a scholar in residence at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He has published in both academic journals in such popular media as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes magazine and Fortune, and writes a syndicated column that appears in newspapers across the country.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

94 of 94 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you for this book! September 1, 2004

By Tim Shepard

Format:Hardcover

As the parent of a late talking child. I was concerned that he exhibited all of the symptoms quoted by the "experts" for a child with PDD-NOS. Little did I realize that taking him in for a free evaluation by the state would lead to School Psychologists and counselors demanding that I enroll him in their "enhanced" programs. After one psychologist accused me of being "in denial" I sought more information and found "The Einstein Syndrome".

This book helped me understand the political and bureaucratic and academic machinations which are creating this bogus "Autism Epidemic" expecially in California. This book offered my wife and I real hope at a very dark time in our lives.

I've waited almost 2 years to post this review. My son is now a playful, intelligent, affectionate, TALKATIVE 4 year old getting ready for kindergarten. All of the Autism/PDD "symptoms" completely disappeared on their own. And I have the luxury of returning that diagnosis to the psychologist with a big "F" written on it. Just to show there's no hard feelings, though. I plan on giving her a present, a copy of "The Einstein Syndrome".
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8 Years later, in honor of my sons 12th birthday, I would like to update my review. My son is currently getting straight A's and is enrolled in the school gifted program and is doing great in an accelerated math class.
I'm very proud of him, he's the best son any father could hope for.

The bureaucrats and educators in the school still occasionally harass him. They try to discipline him because they feel he looks or acts odd, not for any genuine reason. I have let the principal know that that I stand behind my son. I have come to feel that there's a real problem with misguided young (feminist) educators in our schools (especially in California). They don't seem to understand boyish behavior, especially behavior of the type that is characterized as autistic, and so they are try to label these children as diseased. There's money and careers to be made by these diagnoses, so it is sometimes difficult for parents to withstand the pressure of these "experts".

Without this book I wonder I would have had the courage to stand up to those educators who pushed so strongly to have my son put in
a class for mentally disabled students. Instead I stood my ground and insisted he stay in the normal classes, and he has thrived.
Thanks again, Einstein Syndrome.

174 of 184 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A remarkable phenomenom - newly researched August 25, 2001

By Rhosalee. Hutter

Format:Hardcover

The Einstein Syndrome is an informative follow-up of Thomas Sowell's Late Talking Children. Since my daughter and I share all the characteristics that Thomas Sowell writes about, it is quite refreshing and supporting to read about his and Professor Stephen M. Camarata's research. Sowell is a much needed pioneer on the research of bright late-talking children that share various characteristics such as: outstanding analytical abilities, and/or musical abilities, outstanding memories, strong wills, delayed toilet training, close relatives in analytical occupations (ex. engineers) and/or musical abilities, and other interesting characteristics that he describes in his book. Sowell writes about the frustrations a parent can go through with professionals misdiagnosing, to friends and family unthoughtful comments, to schools mislabeling for their own funding purposes. Sowell gives insightful examples of late-talking children and adults who talked late. He goes on to discuss the controversy on early intervention for this particular group of children. He does suggest that a child be evaluated by two separate independent professionals, to skip the "free" school district evaluation, and at the same time be an advocate for your child. Thomas Sowell encourages research and studies on the Einstein syndrome as well as more inovative and challenging educational approaches for these children. My gratitude goes to Thomas Sowell for writing such a wonderful book and if everyone must have a label, my daughter and I will take the Einstein syndrome.

91 of 94 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars More Evidence in the Phenomenon of Late Speakers December 17, 2002

By Sandi Jones

Format:Hardcover

This is the Follow-up book to Sowell's "Late Talking Children". The first book was mostly anecdotal evidence, but this book includes far more data, from more scientific research. He worked with Dr Camarata, a speech and language pathologist from Vanderbilt university for the research of this book.

Yes, as before, many people will criticize this book, as they did the first. The people who will criticize this book are either the para-professionals that stand to lose money from unnecessary therapies, or the parents of children with serious issues who read no further than the dust jacket, and don't read the book with a critical enough eye to realize whether or not their child actually fits this special sub-set of late speakers. We have a strong family history of speech delays, and math intensive careers. Both my husband and father in law fit the profile, as engineers, both late speakers. I am such a strong advocate of this book, as I am a mother of 3 late speakers who fit the profile so closely it is almost scary to see it in print. It is as if they have been watching my household. All 3 of my late speakers are now speaking, and all share the extremely advanced mechanical and spatial perception skills addressed in the profile.

If your child is not speaking, and you see a spark of intelligence in his eyes READ the book, and really analyze your child. Don't just say, "Well some kids grow out of it, mine will too", take a serious look to see if your child does indeed fit the profile. If your child doesn't fit the profile, don't criticize this line of research, as this is a REAL sub-set of late speakers, even if it is not where your child is. If the child DOES fit the profile, there are a great many support groups out there for parents of these odd little guys.