Look me in the eye my life with Asperger's

Ever since he was small, John Robison had longed to connect with other people, but by the time he was a teenager, his odd habits--an inclination to blurt out non sequiturs, avoid eye contact, dismantle radios, and dig five-foot holes (and stick his younger brother in them)--had earned him the label...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Robison, John Elder
Other Authors: Deakins, Mark
Format: Audiobooks eAudiobook Downloads eAudiobook
Language:English
Published: New York : Books on Tape, 2007.
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Online Access:Go to Downloadable Audiobook Here
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Summary:Ever since he was small, John Robison had longed to connect with other people, but by the time he was a teenager, his odd habits--an inclination to blurt out non sequiturs, avoid eye contact, dismantle radios, and dig five-foot holes (and stick his younger brother in them)--had earned him the label "social deviant." No guidance came from his mother, who conversed with light fixtures, or his father, who spent evenings pickling himself in sherry. It was no wonder he gravitated to machines, which could, at least, be counted on. After fleeing his parents and dropping out of high school, his savant-like ability to visualize electronic circuits landed him a gig with KISS, for whom he created their legendary fire-breathing guitars. Later, he drifted into a "real" job, as an engineer for a major toy company. But the higher Robison rose in the company, the more he had to pretend to be "normal" and do what he simply couldn't: communicate. It wasn't worth the paycheck. It was not until he was forty that an insightful therapist told him he had the form of autism called Asperger's syndrome.
Item Description:Downloadable audio file.
Title from: Title details screen.
Unabridged.
Duration: 9:16:43.
Playing Time:09:16:43
Format:Requires OverDrive Media Console (file size: 133351 KB).
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
ISBN:9781415942475
1415942471
Author Notes:John Elder Robison was born in Athens, Georgia in the summer of 1957. His father was a professor of Philosophy in Amherst, Massachusetts. His brother is Augusten Burroughs, author of Running with Scissors.

Growing up John did not know he had Aspergers. He did know that he had a rare insight into electronics. With that knowledge, he joined a band, and ended up designing special effects guitars for KISS by the late 1970s. Afterward, he was an engineer with a major toy and game company. He moved up the corporate ladder for many years, and then became unable to function in the high social climate of the corporate wold.

He began fixing Mercedes and Land Rover cars in his driveway and opened his own car repair specialty shop---J E Robison Service. Eventually he was diagnosed by a therapist as having Aspergers. "Look Me in the Eye" is his honest and touching memoir.

(Bowker Author Biography)