Child Neuro reading list: non-physicians' perspectives.....

[Rutabaga]

Hey child neuro peeps,

I'm interested in rummaging up a good reading list of books written by non-physicians (or PhDs) to round out the year before internship kicks in and I no longer have as much time as I do now for non-medical reading.

So, to anyone interested in child neuro (or peds in general!!!), what books have you read recently or long ago that enriched your perspective on the field either in terms of cultural understanding, insight into the experience of parents or patients affected by neurologic diseases, or any aspect of peds or neurology. Anything and everything is game--poetry, nonfiction, fiction, essays, plays, etc....my only request is, again, no authors with an MD by their name. (To put it bluntly, I'm tired of doctors!!)

I'll start:
The Spirit Catches you and you Fall Down, by Anne Fadiman (a must)
Wings, by Arthur Koplit (a play which unfortunately is no longer running in nyc....I'm listing it in hopes that it might be playing somewhere....admittedly about an adult, but I was absolutely swept away by the acting). Still Alice is another good adult neuro-related book....
Count Us In: Growing up with Downs Syndrome (great social perspective from someone with Downs Syndrome)

This is all that is coming to mind at the moment. There are a number of others that I have not read, but I can't really recommend anything without having read it yet; maybe in a couple of weeks I'll add more rec's. Sadly, a lot of the non-medical books I have read about medicine have been by MD's, PhD's, etc. I'm a little ashamed, to be honest.

Please, please add books, whether or not they technically relate to neurology (but especially if they do!!)

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[wellchild]

Another book by a Ph.D. (though not necessarily written from that perspective) that I enjoyed was Temple Grandin's Thinking In Pictures. While not neurology per se, I think it's helped me in working with kids with autism spectrum.

Along the same lines, for a FANTASTIC fictional treatment of autism, I HIGHLY recommend The Curious Incident of the Dog In The Nighttime by Mark Haddon. Very, very readable, and a beautiful insight into the mind of a child with autism.

For other, less readable fictional accounts on autism, I recommend anything by Andrew Wakefield.

 

[Rutabaga]

Thanks, Wellchild! Temple Grandin definitely counts despite the PhD since she writes from the perspective of someone with autism rather than someone who deals with people with autism in a medical or research setting. That's really the main goal here. The rec's sound great--I've been meaning to read something of hers after watching the HBO movie about her earlier this fall....

 

[neurotiger]

I like the older books by Oliver Sacks, like 'The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat' and 'An anthropologist on Mars.' I read them before med school and thus before I had any medical knowledge whatsoever, but they remind you about the value of a physical exam as a neurologist and are definitely entertaining.

 

[Rutabaga]

I like Oliver Sacks too, although he's an MD and doesn't write from a patient's point of view. I guess one could argue that doctors who tell stories of how patients' illnesses affected them are presenting the patient's perspective. I think what they are doing is valuable, but I don't think it constitutes presenting the patient's perspective. Just as, if I wrote a book about how my husband felt being married to me, however I packaged it, it would really be a book about my perspective on my husband. Which is interesting, just incredibly different from a first person voice (whether in the form of a patient's own words, those of affected family members, or of an "impartial" narrator who at the very least is not the one treating the patient).

What I find disturbing is my own lack of familiarity with this type of literature.

 

[Bernardo_11]

For other, less readable fictional accounts on autism, I recommend anything by Andrew Wakefield.

Please explain this one. In light of the the whole vaccine controveries I would be interested in seeing some of his meritable works. (Not saying they would never exist, just sincerely interested to see his positive contributions to the Autism Spectrums Disorders).

 

[J-Rad]

Please explain this one. In light of the the whole vaccine controveries I would be interested in seeing some of his meritable works. (Not saying they would never exist, just sincerely interested to see his positive contributions to the Autism Spectrums Disorders).

I took WC's comment as a tongue-in-cheek jab at Wakefield. An implication that Wakefield's writings should be considered fiction, though not a terribly readable version. I thought it was funny, though I admit to considering Wakefield a fraud and charlatan, so I am biased in enjoying the snark.

 

[Bernardo_11]

Yeah, I was thinking that as well, but it's hard to determine one's tone on internet forums (at least without the use of smileys ). See?

 

[wellchild]

For other, less readable fictional accounts on autism, I recommend anything by Andrew Wakefield.