Pursuits : Elizabeth Thomsen

Born on a Blue Day is the story of Daniel Tammett, a young man with an extraordinary mind. He has a rare combination of Asperger’s Syndrome and synesthesia, a condition which blurs the usual distinctions between the senses. In his own words:

I see numbers as shapes, colors, textures and motions. The number 1, for example, is a brilliant and bright white, like someone shining a flashlight into my eyes. Five is a clap of thunder or the sound of waves crashing against rocks. Thirty-seven is lumpy like porridge, while 89 reminds me of falling snow.

Daniel is the firstborn child in what will become a very large family. His parents had limited education and resources, and his father suffers from a debilitating mental illness, but as parents, they were patient and supportive of the unusual son. Daniel was different from the start, and suffered from frightening seizures as a child. As with any child on the autistic spectrum, his social skills were limited and he craves solitude and a predictable routine, things not easy to find for a boy growing up with a large family in small, crowded homes in London.
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George and Sam: Two Boys, One Family, and Autism — by Charlotte Moore

Charlotte Moore is the mother of three sons, George, Sam and Jake. George and Sam both seem bright and healthy as babies, but eventually their behavior raises questions and first George, and then Sam are diagnosed as autistic. Jake, born after his older brothers’ diagnosis, is neurotypical, not affected by autism.
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Unstrange Minds: Mapping the World of Autism — Roy Richard Grinker

Roy Richard Grinker and his wife Joyce were as devastated as any couple would be when their first child, Isabel, was diagnosed as autistic at the age of two, but they did bring some educational assets to the situation. He’s an anthropologist whose father and grandfather were psychiatrists, and his wife is a psychiatrist.
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