The Steve Silberman Interview, bestselling author of Neurotribes, The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity

InDialogue

Interview with Steve Silberman, 25th April 2019. (32mins).

The interview, recorded on 24th April 2019, starts with a friendly exchange around common creative interests and alternative art forms. The conversation then moves to examine a perceived autism culture shift, from the wide systemic damage caused by the medical model of disability and Kanner’s default pathologising, to the ever-present fractiousness in the autism community. Extreme imbalances in research outlay and general ignorance are explored, and finally the growing strengths based perspectives and looking hopefully forward to more harmonious, productive dialogue in the autism community... perhaps as Neurotribes! Steve also makes an exclusive announcement of a new book. Read the full Autism Dialogue UK report at www.autismdialogue.org

Steve Silberman is an award-winning investigative reporter and has covered science and cultural affairs for Wired and other national magazines for more than twenty years. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, TIME, Nature and Salon. His ground-breaking book on autism, NEUROTRIBES: The Legacy of Autism and How to Think Smarter About People Who Think Differently, won the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction 2015 and is a worldwide bestseller. In 2001, he published "The Geek Syndrome," one of the first articles in the mainstream press to probe the complex relationship between autism and genius. The article was praised by experts in the field like neurologist Oliver Sacks and author Temple Grandin. Steve Silberman is a former teaching assistant for the poet Allen Ginsberg, has won numerous awards over the years for his science coverage in the New Yorker, Nature and many other national and international magazines. www.stevesilberman.com. Photo credit Mike Mermin.