Amanda Baggs and DJ Savarese on Anderson Cooper 360°

Monday night's Anderson Cooper 360° featured a segment entitled "Finding Amanda," that explored the fascinating world of Amanda Baggs, a remarkable woman with autism who has become an Internet celebrity through the videos that she single-handedly shot, edited, and posted on YouTube. Although nonverbal, she is able to communicate intelligently and eloquently with the aid of a computer and voice synthesizer. She has become something of a hero to many people, and was even invited to speak at a summit organized by the Autism National Committee entitled, "Autism, Living Life to the Fullest."

Among Amanda's biggest fans is fifteen-year-old, DJ Savarese; like Amanda, DJ has autism and is nonverbal. Another similarity that he shares with Amanda is his gift for expressing himself, which he is able to accomplish with the aid of facilitated communication. In fact, DJ is so remarkable that he authored a chapter in his father's book, Reasonable People: a Memoir of Autism and Adoption, a book that we have blogged about in the past.

You can view a video of the segment here.

Look Me In the Eye: My Life with Asperger's

By John Elder Robison

Several months ago I re-visited Augusten Burrough's website because he is a favorite author of mine and I was very anxious to see when his next book was to be published. You may have heard of his most popular book, Running with Scissors, where he describes his incredibly dysfunctional childhood, his parents, and briefly his brother who was diagnosed at 40 with Asperger Syndrome (AS). Much to my disappointment, Burrough's latest book is not scheduled to come out for quite some time, but I was THRILLED when I saw his post from April 2007 about his older brother, John Elder Robison, and his new book about his life with AS that was to be published in the fall of 2007!!

While on the road for book signings for Running with Scissors, Burroughs was shocked at the amount of people who wanted to know more about his brother and all of the people who also identified themselves as having Asperger Syndrome. Burroughs encouraged his brother to write a book about his life and experiences before his diagnosis and what receiving the diagnosis so late in life has meant for him. Robison takes a wonderfully honest and matter of fact look back at his past: what might have been different, what had no impact, and how he has grown as a person because of, as well as regardless of, his diagnosis.

Please see our complete description of his book, Look Me In the Eye, for more details.

You can also visit Robison's own blog at: http://jerobison.blogspot.com/.

There are also a couple of other interesting and insightful interviews with Robison featured on YouTube, one where he is interviewed briefly by his brother and another on Greater Boston .

An Excellent Documentary Featuring Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum

For those of you who were fortunate enough to see MTV's documentary series True Life last night, I'm sure you would agree that it offered a compelling look at three teenagers who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Titled I Have Autism, this episode highlighted the aspirations and daily challenges of three amazing young men: Jeremy Sicile-Kira, who is 17 years of age; Jonathan Lerman, who is 19 years old; and Elijah Wapner, who is 16.

Jeremy Sicile-Kira is a cheerful teenager who is nonverbal, and he was diagnosed with severe autism at age 3. His mother, author Chantal Sicile-Kira, knew that Jeremy had thoughts and feelings that he wanted to communicate, so she introduced a letter board that he learned to point at to show in words what he could not say aloud. When Jeremy was 15, Chantal bought a handheld device for him called a Lightwriter, which utilizes a speech synthesizer that reads aloud what is typed. Jeremy became encouraged by his ability to communicate with others (including his peers), so he decided to use the device to invite his classmates to his 18th birthday party, which turns out to be a huge success. I would like to note here that Jeremy's mother Chantal is the author of two popular (and highly recommended) books in our bookstore: Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum: A Parent's Guide, and the award-winning Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Complete Guide.

Jonathan Lerman, 19, is a sensitive, language-impaired young adult with autism who has difficulty with abstract thought and is severely affected by loud noises (he often wears headphones). However, he has been given the label of autistic savant because of his extraordinary artistic ability. His drawings have been featured in several solo shows in New York, and a book of his artwork was published in 2002 titled Jonathan Lerman: Drawings By an Artist with Autism, which we also sell in our bookstore. Jonathan is shown with his family, attending school (a high school for kids with disabilities), and drawing in his art studio. He has been experiencing increasing episodes of outbursts and tantrums, and his source of frustration appears to be his autism and his inability to fit in. He is shown visiting a neurologist, who is uncertain what is causing Jonathan's outbursts. However, Jonathan does have another successful solo art show (without a tantrum), and his parents decide that next year he should be mainstreamed into a high school with typical teenagers. In the meantime, he is also being tested for a possible seizure disorder.

Elijah Wapner is a charming, humorous, 16-year-old teenager who has been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome. His deep interest in comedy has helped him learn how to communicate with the world, and he has aspired to make people laugh since he was a young boy. He decided at an early age to become a stand-up comedian, and he eventually learned to write his own material. He is shown both at home and on the road with his mother, author Valerie Paradiž, who is his biggest supporter. Elijah begins to prepare for his appearance at the Las Vegas Comedy Festival, and it is at this event that Elijah decides, for the first time, to talk about his autism in front of an audience. Although he experiences anxiety about revealing his diagnosis to strangers, his show turns out to be a success, and Elijah decides that revealing his autism should be a permanent part of his future performances. (Elijah has a new website, so be sure to check it out.) Elijah's mother, author Valerie Paradiž, wrote the book Elijah's Cup, which we also have available in our bookstore. This book has become a classic, and it is now in a revised edition.