Temple Grandin has a new book out this year —The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum — and Slate has an excerpt: The Autistic Brain: The origins of the diagnosis of autism — and the parental guilt-tripping that went along with it. It’s only a couple pages, but it’s an insightful look at how the culture and level of knowledge at the time can lead to radically different diagnoses and treatment approaches.
Not familiar with Grandin? Here’s the first part of a mid-2000s BBC documentary about her, which was how I was first introduced to this fascinating woman:
You can watch her 2010 TED talk, “The world needs all kinds of minds” (which is also the name of a 2012 documentary about her that is available online). And if that isn’t enough, there are clips online from the HBO biopic Temple Grandin, starring Claire Danes, which won seven Emmys.
Medical Anthropology 
And while we’re on the subject, Oakland’s Center for Autism Research, Education and Support is holding its fifth annual symposium in a few weeks in the Auburn Hills Marriott: details below.
http://www.oakland.edu/oucaressymposium