I found this really interesting as a primary (elementary) teacher to read.

It discusses the latest research into autism using non-scientist friendly language. It challenges the stereotypes of what autism ‘always’ looks like & how we can help make people with autism more comfortable.

It is not they who lack empathy but us.

It challenges the idea that they have a neurological deficit and show that actually they have the opposite. Over-stimulated brains & many things are ‘hyper’ rather than ‘hypo’ meaning medications like Ritalin do the opposite of what many of them need.

It’s definitely an interesting perspective & I’d love to read more about the developments & how we can encourage calm rich environments in our schools and homes.

As someone that works with autistic students, I found this book to be a great read. So many people look at those with a diagnosis as only being autistic versus focusing on the strengths of their personalities. The author was very honest in the struggles that Kai's father had when he was diagnosed. As a top neuroscientist, he was even having a hard time with finding information to help his son. This book was very inspirational.

Using story-telling to make inaccessible ideas accessible, i found this book gave me a fairly deep understanding of the debates surrounding autism. The style is surprisingly literary in places, but that’s a feature not a bug. Thoughtful, good read.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

Sorry for the delay in my review, life has gotten in the way.

As a special - needs mama, i had high hopes for this book... but if i'm being honest.. it bored me... i wish i had nicer things to say

Fascinating Yet Complicated. I seem to be the first Autistic person to be reading this book, at least from reading the available English language reviews on Goodreads after finishing the book yet prior to writing my own review.

Overall, the story is about Henry Markam, his relationship with his son Kai, and how that led to one of the most revolutionary "discoveries" in modern neuroscience: Intense World.

I personally refuse to call this a "theory" because it is fact - a fact which pretty well any Autistic Adult that can communicate can tell anyone who asks. And through this section of the book, roughly the first 2/3 of the text, this is a SHOUT FROM THE ROOFTOPS level AMAZING book. SOOO many times I wanted to literally go to skyscrapers and shout to the world "READ THIS BOOK AND UNDERSTAND ME AND MY PEOPLE!!!!!". And even with this being something like book 135 or so on the year for me, those level of reactions are indeed rare.

But then we realize that Markram isn't just trying to *understand* Autistics. He wants to "cure" us. Which is genocide. The text tries to couch this and make Markram and his second wife (and research partner) seem more benevolent, but at the end of the day their research is focused on the eradication of my people.

Along these veins, the recommendations the Markrams make about how Autistic children are to be treated is horrible bordering on monstrous - they want a world devoid of any stimuli other than carefully screened, carefully controlled ones, as they believe that to do otherwise is to "trigger" the development of Autism in young children.

I'm not a neuroscientist, but neither am I neurotypical. I may not be able to point to the exact chemical processes within my brain the way the Markrams can, but I can explain what I understand to be happening within my own skull better than most of my fellow Autistics (though there are some far better than even myself at this).

So I have to say, regarding the back 1/3 or so of this book, to take it with about a boulder of salt. The relationsip aspects amongst the Markrams seem genuine, and the overall goals of creating a legitimate simulation of the mammalian - and specifically human - brain are commendable and needed. But the post-Intense World proscriptions on how parents should raise their children? Take it about as you would any random stranger offering you advice - do some independent research before you commit to an action, and in this particular case... *ask an Autistic adult*, or better yet: several of us.

Overall a highly recommended yet ultimately flawed book, the front 2/3 of it are simply too good not to recommend the book as a whole.

This was such a touching story, I really enjoyed reading it. There were times where the translation was a bit of but it didn't bother me, and there are some strange sentences. I still enjoyed the read.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

I think this is an important story to tell, it needs to be shared because as the parent of an autistic child who reads everything she can get her hands on, I have never heard of Intense World Syndrome, and quite frankly it's spot on and worth exploration. I also feel it's the quickest way to make a good parent feel like a failure, but that is where the research comes in so, eventually, along with an early diagnosis, parents can be trained/coached in how to raise their child in the most helpful way possible within their means.

To the book, however, I cannot recommend anyone pick up a copy and slog through. I understand this is a translation from a German publication in 2018, and I sincerely hope it's the translation that failed because I cannot imagine people flocking to a bookseller to purchase this book. It's hard to explain, but it reads like the script of an info-mercial. You know what I'm talking about - the 30 minute commercial on a Saturday afternoon where a "host" interviews the inventor of some kitchen gadget or supplement that will - no doubt - change your dang life. It's full of cheesey jokes, insincere banter, and - the most important bit - big time compliments, if not straight up worship for the inventor, who bashfully quips, "I just want to make people's lives better, and if I can that's all the thanks I need."

BS

The text is full of cliff hanger sentences pulled straight from reality TV, pointless interview dialogues that provide nothing to the story, descriptions about how wealthy this guy is in a very inappropriate way (threatening a waiter with a scene if he doesn't provide a pepperoni pizza to his teenage son in a 5 star vegan restaurant in Italy, which he does, poor guy), and shares very little about the process, plans for the future, real life applications... you know, the stuff I'm reading the book for. And so often, "he did it for Kai!" This is years and years of research by a guy who does not live with his autistic son, but rather dumped him on to his ex-wife in Israel with two other children while he romped off to Switzerland to play research with his attractive research assistant who he eventually married. Yet his rush to cure is son is palpable. And then to include two chapters making a case that autism is a mutation that will work in humanity's favor by producing geniuses once we can turn off the noise, that's a false expectation for desperate families and no evidence is provided.

I read this book cover to cover for my kid - I read a lot of stuff, some of it rediculous, some of it extraordinary. This kept me on the edge of my seat wading through crap for a big payout that never came.

Bottom line: there are well written articles online about this guy and his discoveries. The New Yorker could have written an excellent extended article on the subject. It did not deserve an entire book and I don't anticipate it will sell or receive good reviews if it is, indeed, published state-side.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was compelling and compassionate. I feel as though it gave a good insight into Henry Markram, his relationship with his son, and how he developed the Intense World Theory. It didn't get too bogged-down in the science but there were some technical terms. This book feels as though it could work as an introduction into one area of contemporary neuroscience but may not have the niche appeal with those already familiar with the subject matter. I enjoyed learning more about autism and understanding Kai's world.

My one very minor critique is that I found the jump between almost interviews and storytelling a little jarring.