Autism is the Future: The Evolution of a Different Type of Intelligence

Our kids on the autism spectrum are unique. They process information and think differently, and they have different strengths and weaknesses - so why is society pushing them into neurotypical “normalcy?”

Through her years of work with those on the autism spectrum, Dr. Marlo Payne Thurman has witnessed the quirks, challenges, and downright genius of autism. She shows that current educational and societal structures may be failing the growing number of people on the spectrum, robbing both these individuals and society of autism’s unique gifts.

Based on her doctoral dissertation, Thurman presents her theory of sensory-cognitive difference and proposes that these developments have evolved together into a very different form of intelligence in those with ASD. This in-depth, scientific look into the gift of autism calls for the world to embrace and nurture traits of those on the spectrum, as they may play a key role in our future.

Table of Contents

Introduction

My Journey into Neurodiversity

1. Nuts and Bolts: The Research Behind the Book
2. Understanding Autism from the Cognitive Behavioural Tradition

3.A Different Approach: Sensory Processing Theory.

4. Sensory Difference: Insights from Within

5. What, Then, Is Intelligence?

6. Preliminary Thoughts on Cognitive Difference

7. Discovering Neurodiversity

8. Cognition Reimagined: The Theory of Sensory Cognitive Difference

9. Where Do We Go from Here?

10. Endings and Beginnings

Glossary

Terms and Definitions Used in this Work

References

About the Author