Elijah’s Cup; A Family’s Journey into the Community and Culture of High-Functioning Autism and Aspeger's Syndrome

by Valerie Paradiz (2002), published by The Free Press. ISBN 0-432-0445-X

I enjoyed reading ‘Elijah’s Cup’. Valerie Paradiz has combined her knowledge of her son, the research literature on Autistic Spectrum Disorders and the biographies of several famous scientists and artists. She recognises shadow traits in her family and declares that she likes crossing cultural boundaries. One of those boundaries is between the neurotypical mind and the mind of a person with Asperger’s Syndrome. If one considers that the neurotypical mind has a certain order of priorities in analysing situations and making decisions, then one of the highest ranking priorities is perceiving social/emotional cues and their implications. However, the mind of the person with Asperger’s Syndrome ranks the pursuit of knowledge and truth as more important. Valerie recognises that the characteristics of Asperger’s Syndrome have value within society and may well have contributed to the creativity of individuals such as Einstein and Andy Warhol. She takes pride in her son’s qualities, and her descriptions of his development leave the reader feeling great admiration for her insights and determination.