Sometimes psychologists try to explain autism using 'theory of mind'. Books on psychology devote whole chapters to theory of mind, but to keep a lid on it here, I'll just quote Dictionary.com: the ability to interpret one’s own and other people’s mental and emotional states, understanding that each person has unique motives, perspectives, etc. The … Continue reading Autism and Theory of Mind |Do you think like a Baboon?
Autism | When they admire you
For some years now I've been editing my old journals, condensing them, getting rid of the paper. This morning I came upon the entry for Sept 12, 1969, one of the most important dates in my life. In an upscale bar frequented by the insurance industry, I had met Matthew, a young underwriter who I … Continue reading Autism | When they admire you
Autism|Toronto’s Van Rampage one year later
This spring new memorials appeared on Yonge Street commemorating the anniversary of Alec Minassian's van attack when he killed ten pedestrians and injured many others. The Toronto Star published a three page article (I was friends with Alek Minassian. We were both outcasts - April 21/2019) by writer Evan Mead, who attended high school with … Continue reading Autism|Toronto’s Van Rampage one year later
Autism|Is Asperger’s gone?
I've been asking myself this question since the American Psychiatric Association (APA) published the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth edition) in 2013, which dropped the Asperger's diagnosis. But it took me a while to get my hands on a copy of the DSM-5. This week I examined the section on the … Continue reading Autism|Is Asperger’s gone?
Why did I write The Shyness Guide?
When there are more than 600 books about shyness for sale on Amazon, you might wonder why I wrote another one. How could there be anything left to say? Well, because shyness is almost never understood the way I understand it. My central idea is that shyness is natural in most shy people. It's part … Continue reading Why did I write The Shyness Guide?
The Shyness Guide ebook is here
Yes, after a prolonged delay that I won't try to explain, I have finally got the ebook for sale on Amazon. This week, from Wed Oct 10 to Sunday Oct 14, you can download it FREE at any Amazon site (see below). The Shyness Guide is not just a different look at shyness. It's a … Continue reading The Shyness Guide ebook is here
Autism and Toronto’s Van Rampage
When a van drove down Yonge Street April 23, 2018, our first real spring day in this city, deliberately attacking pedestrians, killing 10 and injuring at least 14, it was with added dismay that I learned that the alleged driver, Alek Minassian, age 25, has been diagnosed with Asperger's. It wasn't a surprise though. Young … Continue reading Autism and Toronto’s Van Rampage
Autism|One Problem, Many Paths
This week I discovered the July 29, 2011 Science News article by Laura Sanders, "One Problem, Many Paths", which described some interesting research on the DNA and associated “neural proteins” in autistic families. The families were studied in groups of approximately 1000 families, including many families where the parents were not autistic. As with … Continue reading Autism|One Problem, Many Paths
The Autism Matrix – a new vision
The biggest problem with autism is that no one knows what it is, or what causes it. That's why the debates about it are so confusing and unrewarding. People aren't talking about the same thing. I was very interested in autism when I was writing The Birdcatcher, and that continued as I worked on The Shyness Guide. In both … Continue reading The Autism Matrix – a new vision
Alan Conrad 