I was thrilled to speak with Steve Silberman, author of the seminal history of the autism diagnosis and the neurodiversity movement, Neurotribes!

Listen to the episode by clicking the audio link below or on Stitcher here,  iTunes here

Read the transcript below the audio file.

Transcribed by Julie Ann Lee: Transcript_ SteveSilberman-Noncompliant
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Bio
Steve Silberman is an award-winning science writer whose articles have appeared in Wired, The New York Times, The New Yorker, and many other publications. His book NeuroTribes became a widely-praised bestseller, winning the 2015 Samuel Johnson prize for non-fiction and was chosen as one of the Best Books of 2015 by The New York Times, The Economist, The Independent and many others. His TED talk, “The Forgotten History of Autism,” has been viewed more than a million times and translated into 35 languages. He lives with his husband Keith in San Francisco, where he is working on a new book, The Taste of Salt (discussed in this podcast).

The impact of Neurotribes
Neurotribes really changed the public conversation about autism in some radical ways. It meticulously traces the history of the autism diagnosis, synthesizing a forgotten history of the residential institution era, while also giving detail and context to competing notions of the diagnosis in the medical literature across time (and the impact of that competition). The book traces shifting understandings of autism in society, explaining how medicine, culture and grassroots activism came together for both a rise in diagnosis and new understandings about autism and neurodiversity.  Neurotribes creates a context for what we see today: how our social institutions and media interpret, respond and portray autism. 

Since writing Neurotribes, Steve continues to speak and write about autism, but always with a mind to refer to “the real experts”: autistic people. We talked about this, as well as his new book project; neurodiversity; autistic history; platforms of communication; states of being; the rise of false news and our need for honesty; inspiring new youth movements; and the power of continuing the work of social justice when we have no choice but to carry on.

Links from the podcast:
Greta Thunberg: Profile

Dara McAnulty’s blog

Interview with Steve Silberman: The Sun Magazine

Steve Silberman’s TED Talk: The Forgotten History of Autism

Steve Silberman’s webpage