I Don't Want to Be Inside Me Anymore: Messages from an Autistic Mind

by Birger Sellin

Book Overview

Judged incurably autistic, mute since the age of two, Sellin astonished the world when, at the age of 18, he began to express himself in writing, pouring out thoughts and feelings that no one suspected he understood. The uncompromisingly honest messages he sends to humanity without me will touch the lives of everyone who reads them.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0465031722
• ISBN13: 9780465031726
• Release Date: March 1995
• Publisher: Basic Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 1.12 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Revelatory

I would take the previous review with more than a "grain of salt". It seems as though the reviewer has some strong emotions relating to the subject matter that bleed into the analysis of the book. This amazing work is up there with "The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat" by Oliver Sacks in terms of redefining the range of what makes us human. To be so suspicious of methods used to obtain Sellin's inner dialog and reflections seems questionable itself. Should we also question the memoir of Jean-Dominique Bauby because he had "locked in" syndrome? No, overcoming this great communication obstacle should be viewed as an immense achievement.

Politics aside, Birger's writing is moving, deep, powerful.

The world of facilitated communication is certainly one of controversy and Birger's writing add to that controversy. But FC has been used for years with those with impulse control disorders who have Cerebral Palsy. Many in that group were considered for decades to be mentall retarded and incapable of their communications using assisted typing as is the case with FC. The real question is not whether FC is a valid communication for some people but whether, like those with CP, some severely autistic people can be deemed to have impulse control disorders such as Dyspraxia, OCD or Tourette's and this is certainly the case that whilst many, especially at the more able end of the spectrum, do not, others certainly do. The other question is whether someone with Autism who has a severe impulse control disorder can also be as intelligent, deep and artistic as any person with CP who uses FC to express the same things. Quite simply, if we assume they don't then we are committing the same sin society committed in the dark past against those with CP and the deaf. Whatever you think of the politics or your own take on autism, it is still possible to acknowlege that someone with a severe impulse control disorder and autism may feel they suffer more from their autism than someone who does have control of their body, their movements, their communication. Birger's poetry in that context is an appeal to humanity to listen to a trapped intelligence and passion. If we put our politics aside, maybe we'll here not the disability, but the person.