'' In a Different Key: The Story of Autism'' is a 2016 non-fiction book by John Donvan and Caren Zucker. It discusses the history of autism and autism advocacy, including issues such as the refrigerator mother theory and the possibility of an autism epidemic.

Donald Triplett Donald Gray Triplett (September 8, 1933 – June 15, 2023) was an American banker known for being the first person diagnosed with autism. He was first diagnosed by Leo Kanner in 1943 and was labeled as "Case 1". Triplett was noted for his savan ...

, the first person diagnosed with autism, and psychiatrist Leo Kanner are also covered, as is the ongoing debate concerning the

neurodiversity The neurodiversity paradigm is a framework for understanding human brain function that considers the diversity within sensory processing, Motor skill, motor abilities, Social anxiety, social comfort, cognition, and Attention, focus as neurobiol ...

movement, especially with respect to autistic people with more apparent support needs.

Story

The book starts by focusing on

, the first recorded child to be diagnosed with autism. It discusses how he was treated and his family life. The book continues with the refrigerator mother theory, which claimed that parents were the main cause of autism.

Leo Kanner Leo Kanner (; born Chaskel Leib Kanner; June 13, 1894 – April 3, 1981) was an Austrian-American psychiatrist, physician, and social activist best known for his work related to infantile autism. Before working at the Henry Phipps Psychiatric C ...

and

Bruno Bettelheim Bruno Bettelheim (; August 28, 1903 – March 13, 1990) was an Austrian-born American psychologist, scholar, public intellectual and writer who spent most of his academic and clinical career in the United States. An early writer on autism, Bet ...

's role in the formation of this theory is examined, with emphasis on Kanner's position vis à vis the refrigerator mother. The authors discuss the importance of redefining the disorder so that more people with autism can receive treatment and improve their quality of life. After looking at the beginnings of modern autism research, how autism is defined, and whether the disorder is a benefit or a deficit, the authors close the book with discussion of the increase in public knowledge about autism, the

MMR vaccine controversy Claims of a link between the MMR vaccine and autism have been extensively investigated and found to be false. The link was first suggested in the early 1990s and came to public notice largely as a result of the 1998 ''Lancet'' MMR autism frau ...

, and the

debate.

Reception

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' wrote that the book was compelling and well-researched, and the authors blended the search for treatment with the personal stories of various individuals. ''Spectrum'' wrote that the book provided a meticulous, absorbing stepwise chronology of how the perception of autism changed from being unknown to being abhorred, then later accepted.

Ari Ne'eman Ari Daniel Ne'eman (; born December 10, 1987) is an American disability rights activist and researcher who co-founded the Autistic Self Advocacy Network in 2006. On December 16, 2009, President Barack Obama announced that Ne'eman would be appoin ...

has criticized the book for sympathizing with a parent who murdered their autistic child, and has claimed that the book misrepresents the neurodiversity movement.

Awards

''In a Different Key'' was a finalist for the 2017

Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction The Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are awarded annually for the "Letters, Drama, and Music" category. The award is given to a nonfiction book written by an American author and published du ...

, described by the reviewers as "a passionate work of advocacy that traces public perceptions about autism from chillingly cruel beginnings to a kinder but still troubling present."

Adaptation

''In a Different Key'' was adapted into a documentary in 2022.

References

External links

Official website

Feature Documentary website
{{Autism resources American non-fiction books Documentary films about autism 2016 non-fiction books Broadway Books books Non-fiction books about autism