Look Me in the Eye - My Life with Asperger's by John Elder Robison

John Elder Robison always knew he was different. He couldn't make friends, adults all thought there was something mentally wrong with him, and he just couldn't understand people in general. His teachers hated his rocking and constant movement, seen as a disruption in class. He was constantly having to learn to act 'normal' in order to stay out of trouble or make friends.

Look Me In The Eye is hardly a story of a rebellious teen or troublemaker, though. John Elder Robison has Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism. Throughout the book, the reader gets a glimpse of what it's like to have an autism spectrum disorder; how it affects a person, what difficulties individuals with the disorder face, and even why they react in odd ways to many things.

His Asperger's seems apparent from the beginning: the rocking, the problems with eye contact, lack of empathy for those who aren't close to him, inappropriate emotional responses, savant ability. At the time John Elder was born, though, autism disorders were only diagnosed in the extreme circumstances - non-verbal individuals that couldn't function at all.

Somehow, John Elder 'learned' what he had to in order to make it. He watched others to discover social norms and nuances. He was still incredibly awkward, but he made huge progress.

It wasn't until he was a teenager that he found his strength - a savant ability - working with electronics. John Elder's strength kept him afloat as he dropped out of high school and went out on his own. He toured with KISS, worked with Pink Floyd, dabbled in computer engineering and currently works in fine European automobile repairs.

John Elder Robison didn't get his Asperger's diagnosis until the age of 40. While he often wonders how his life would have changed if he had the diagnosis as a child, there is a silver lining in that cloud. Had he known before, he could not have learned what he did - and we would have never had such a profoundly insightful teacher.

His late diagnosis has helped him accept himself, an important part of happiness for all of us. He no longer feels like a 'fraud', as he calls it, trying to live where he doesn't fit in. As he says, "So, I'm not defective. In fact, in recent years I have started to see that we Aspergians are better than normal! And now it seems as though scientists agree: Recent articles suggest that a touch of Asperger's is an essential part of much creative genius."

Look Me In The Eye is a valuable piece of work in the face of rising autism disorder rates. It educates the public in a way that they can understand without feeling pity; which is not what an individual with an autism disorder wants. Parents of children on the spectrum can also benefit from reading this incredible story. It gives hope for the future of our children knowing that John Elder is so successful, and more importantly, happy with his life.