Myomancy ADHD, Dyslexia and Autism

Beyond the Wall: Personal Experiences with Autism and Asperger Syndrome, Second Edition

Stephen M. Shore

$13.64 via Amazon

This expanded second edition, which features a foreward by Dr. Temple Grandin, includes a new chapter entitled Getting Ready for College. New information on common sensory reactions has been added in an easy to read chart format. Finally, there’s a new chapter on Shore’s recent public involvement with autism spectrum related issues, including speaking at conferences and advocating for services for those on the spectrum.

People who have brought this book wrote:

I purchased this book to gain a better insight about Aspergers. Instead, it left me with many unanswered questions. The book is the equivalent to a boring, monotonous `Dear Diary' that gets stuck in one era: His college years and his interest in music. (This is understandable as the author is terrified of life outside of college, & music is all he knows.) Yet I craved more details, I wanted to know more about Mr. Shores' childhood, his parents, the stims, and the chaos...DETAILS!

It felt as if the author was trying to prove how intelligent he is, boasting of his accomplishments and how he's almost neurotypical. His failures were blamed on other people out to get him for unknown reasons. Lets say it for what it is: A man who looks kind of disheveled and a bit `odd' (Unabomber) gets a job in a financial institution, he rides his bike in, hangs out in the shadows getting dressed, doesn't socialize - and no one wants him around. It's BECAUSE HE'S WEIRD! Yet the author blames his co-workers.

I'm sorry but the reality is, the author probably can't see and understand that he IS different because he has Aspergers! I mean, most typical people can spot someone that is odd/weird/different a mile away. They avoid them not because they're being hurtful, they just can't relate to that person.

I wished he had focused in much greater detail about his feelings, emotions and behaviors when he was younger-to gain a better understanding of what shaped him into the person he is now. The book was written as if he fast-forwarded through his entire youth and got stuck on `pause' when he got to college. While this is obsessively interesting to him, it was tiring reading page after page of redundant accounts of his college days.

There is no depth to the book, it was shallowly written and there is not enough elaboration to make me understand, (or want to for that part) what makes Stephen Shore the person he is. While this may be due in part to his disorder, it left so much to be desired.

I'm sorry to anyone who takes offense to this review, as this is not my intention. I applaud Mr. Shores accomplishments and the hurtles he's overcome. He must be MUCH more dimensional than the book conveys. I wanted to know more about HIM and not what he's done in his life.

I'd suggest a better read would be one of Temple Grandin's books. I got a true feeling of who she is and an understanding of how she got there and how autism fits in. She goes into details about what she was thinking as a girl, teenager and adult. Her pranks, her temper, the metaphors and their importance..everything.

I bought this book based on reviews, and I felt it necessary to give mine.

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