Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wow!, March 23, 2006
This book is amazing... I have worked as a special education teacher for children diagnosed with autism for the last eight years. I have also worked around those diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. I want to say this is not just a good book to read, but this author may have discovered the cause of autism. I have never read a theory, which explains the cause of all the obvious symptoms of autism. This is really cutting edge thinking.
This is how I interpreted the theory. At the core of the theory is a fetal misunderstanding or misreading of environmental cues. As fetal consciousness develops during the pregnancy, the fetus, from constant exposure to the conditioning model, begins to misread the environmental cues. This is because their memory is `blocked' or not fully developed. The fetus begins to think its kicking and punching during the `First Fear Cycle of Development' (conditioning model), is actually changing conditions in its environment, saving the mother's life and its own (saving the mother and itself from pain; pain = fetal perception of death). This connection to the mother evolves later in life for compassion to the female and eventually others. `The health of others is alright, therefore I am alright.' This is in contrast to the fetus that will develop autism. This fetus was subject to accelerated neural development (memory) and consciousness in the womb and consequently is not subject to this misinterpretation in the womb. (This will lead later to a reduction of certain neurons for the reason that they matured prematurely.) To this fetus the mother is only one variable among other conditions responsible for this fear cycle. (This fetus counts steps, obtains dopamine from biting its wrist, initiates its own rocking, in a futile attempt to stop this painful cycle. These are behaviors they will display outside the womb in autism.) Later the child with autism will be disconnected (disconnected is my word not the author's) from the behavioral and reproduction model, because it did not experience this initial misinterpretation. The connection to the health of others for the child with autism is therefore different and of not the same intensity and this includes the mother. In the years I have worked with autism and Asperger syndrome I have noticed this dramatically. This disconnection was one of my first observations. The mother often feels guilty, because the child with autism is not bonding with them, no matter how hard the mother tries or how much effort they put into it. Children with autism are aloof and uninterested; even though there are exceptions to this, most of the time it is the case. It is really tragic and sad. I would really recommend this book, because it can help a lot of mothers and fathers with this understanding.
I believe this theory is correct and I can even see it right here. If Arone's theory were right then someone with Asperger syndrome, who has read the book, would have a hard (if not impossible) time accepting the mother/child focus in this theory. They would think it was foreign or weird for the simple reason that they didn't experience it. Alas, in one of these reviews this is exactly what happened. (After reading the book everyone will know what I mean.) This is only one of the many reasons I think this author has it right, and why I wrote this review. Plus, I have watched this theory unfold and prove itself at my job over the last three weeks. I talked to my co-worker, who is a psychologist and she helped me interpret the book's appendix with the neural notes (most are very technical). She says they are brilliant and from what we can gather it looks like he has essentially proven this theory. I can tell this theory is going to be big news.
Arone is more than a great mind in psychology; he is a powerful writer with a very progressive writing style. Be cautioned; it takes a pretty balanced person to read this book. He doesn't hold back and some parts of the book are hard to handle, especially the reproduction model for the female. This is definitely not your parents' psychology book. Like anyone, who has anything important to say, this book is going to be controversial. I already see groups trying to prevent us from buying it, plus he seems to have a knack of making a lot of lesser authors or so called `authors' insanely jealous. I would totally discount just about all criticism pertaining to this magnificent book. After reading the book from cover to cover, I can honestly say none of it is true (Self-published? Give me a break!) Even though this book and author are probably fifty years ahead of their time, The Theorem was an enlightening adventure and most definitely worth reading. I am really excited about this book.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Potential Implications For Schizophrenia Research, June 29, 2006
He certainly has guts: this new author and theorist. I will give him that. He is not only convinced that this behavioral model has something of substantial value to offer the scientific community in the field of human behavior, but Mr. Arone is convinced that his model holds the missing link to uncover the majority of behaviors and behavioral disorders that define modern man: all of this based on a fetal development model. What is even more disturbing is that he may very well be right.
Before we crown him the new king of psychology however, it is of interest to note that there are a few potential problems with this work. The first problem, I can foresee is that he is writing this book for the average or "general" reader. What seems as a noble attempt to be the hero of the everyman may cause him problems and criticisms from other psychologists for this very reason. This theory defines and then solves some of the major puzzles in the field of psychology. This book would have been much better received if it were written in the same tone as he takes in Neural Notes Appendix Here he is very much at home with the neural notations to support his premise.
He is, above all else, is a very good writer, and perhaps a little too good for the medium chosen here, as he is constantly restrained by the very model presented, however effective it is. It is certainly apparent he was trained as a classical writer of literature Highlights of the book are the human reproduction model. The reproduction model is comprehensive and from my vantage point at least, essentially flawless. It is to be expected that countless books and research will be written on this section alone. He is also very thorough on the triggers during infancy that provide the catalyst to the condition of "First Fear Not Relieved". These include death of the mother, absence of the mother, abuse of the child, and sickness of the mother and other variables. The low aspect of the book, for me at least, was the author's choice of the schizophrenia model. Here he puts what holds promise as the `definitive schizophrenia model' buried in the books appendix, complete with Neural Notes. This model should have been the one presented in the main text. I am certain, after spending many years researching schizophrenia that his presented model on this disorder is important and should be seriously considered by others researching schizophrenia. With the behavioral model included in the primary text and the neural evidence to support the origin of both positive and negative symptoms, I can say this model was a welcome surprise to this researcher, and elevated the work presented on schizophrenia from the status of "plausible" to "probable". I am surprised I have not seen this portion of the theory presented in a scholarly journal. It may be advisable for Mr. Arone to hire a scientific publicist to see this through.
Do not get me wrong in this criticism however. This theory in all of its raw equity is beyond a shadow of a doubt a masterpiece that I can see will be read by many in the mental health field, especially those who consider themselves forward thinking. However, I get the feeling Mr. Arone, has little concern about what psychologists or anyone else feel about this work, as I get more than a hint in this book of busy self destruction. I can only imagine this goes with the territory, because it is clear from reading this work that Mr. Arone has already accepted the greatness of this theory, as he has apparently rehearsed his conflicted dialogue with immortality well in advance of his presentation of his book. Like a master puppeteer he releases only enough working notes to let us know this model can be proven, but not enough to fully accept this model verbatim. I wonder when he in all of his graciousness will deliver the rest.
Though, I would rather have seen this book written as a medical or scientific text, it is an exceptionally well versed debut by a bright theorist who's presented, model when it gains attention, holds the possibility of becoming one of the standards in human psychology in years ahead. Kudos to this new prince for a job well done.
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9 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting Ideas--A Bit Overdone, February 24, 2006
The Theorem has some interesting ideas about how prenatal development influences behavior. No doubt there is some, and possibly much, truth to this. The author, however, seems to stretch every possible human behavior to fit subconcious memories of what it was like as an unborn human being, seeming to discount any experiences after birth as having much influence. Clearly postnatal experiences have a vital impact on behavior. Witness the emotional state of children who grow up in abusive homes vs. those who grow up in loving ones. It is certain that a child reared in an abusive home would not have the same behaviors if he or she were brought up in a loving one. We are programmed by what we experience, both in the womb and outside of it.
I wish the book had extensive footnotes to support the claims the author makes. I also wish he had a professional proof reader correct this for grammar and punctuation, as it appears to be a self published book. In addition, the author's excessive repetition of information previously discussed bogs down the information he's trying to get across. A good editor could have done a lot with this. Too bad the author didn't have one.
The value of this book lies in making folks aware that the unborn has experiences that are not forgotten. We do not become humans at birth. We are humans at conception and learn as we grow, in the womb and outside of it. The author is to be commended for recognizing this often over looked truth.
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