The Einstein Syndrome

The book arrived in fine condition.The content of the book itself is fascinating. My son was a late talker, not even saying 'mama' at 2.5 years old. I remembered hearing about this book in a YouTube video because I'm just a Sowell fan. Well, after back and forth with family and friends about "he's autistic", "no he isn't, some kids just don't talk", "have you had him evaluated?", etc. I found myself wanting to look at the alternatives, if he were to be autistic, fine. But what if he weren't diagnosed as having autism? This book explores that question and really brought up some fun and interesting observations about the flaws in autism evaluations. The one that now, as my son is 3, almost 4, cracks me up, is when he talks about some toddlers just being so stubborn that they don't want to do the tasks of the eval, and end up diagnosed. My son can definitely do that, he is so capable and very smart, but sometimes...he just does not want to share it. He ended up with a mild unofficial diagnosis because he was not old enough to be labeled "autistic" but he started talking at almost 3, and now talks constantly and is obsessed with the alphabet. I think Sowell briefly mentions hyperlexia in the book which is how I recognized my child's obsession with alphabet and reading. In the future, we may still have him evaluated but this book, while it did bring me a little bit of peace while I was reading it, definitely rings true now that the talking has started. More research should be done on this phenomenon because I bet a lot of parents out there are being urged by friends and family to test, test, test for autism and worrying over whether they're intervening early enough. He encourages the use of speech therapy or whatever might help the child but also it's important to just wait and see sometimes. Recommend this book if your baby isn't talking and if you're wondering about autism.

To all the reviewers that claims Sowell tells you to do nothing about your speech delayed child… he clearly didn’t. It is like these people didn’t read the book and just made up stuff… shame! Sowell is just trying to help out stressed out parents and if you have criticism, at least let them be real. Come on! He had a whole section on early intervention vs letting the child develop naturally.I can’t say this adds much more than “late talker” in terms of new discoveries because this book pretty much affirms what he said in the original. But it was nice to read more stories about these children and be horrified by certain treatments.I did skip some sections because of this, but if you’re only reading this book instead of his first one “late talker” this book is invaluable and very therapeutic.

Some 10-15% of children are "late talkers." There are a variety of reasons for and presentations of late talking, most common among boys. Some toddlers do not speak at all, some do not practice talking by babbling while others simply have a smaller than average vocabulary. Some seem to understand language spoken to them, while being uninterested in speaking. Others present with receptive as well as expressive language delays. Some are months behind, others years. For some babies additional medical problems or developmental delays point to other deeper issues; these can include autism or cerbral palsy. It is not surprising that parents of late talking children feel severe anxiety and confusion.Google "late talkers," and you will find many well-meaning but undeniably self-interested organizations that appeal to the vulnerability of these families. You will find vitamins being advertised, special DVD programs, books, and several organizations that offer early-intervention speech therapy.Thomas Sowell brings to this confusing picture the independence of mind and analytical insight that have made him a controversial but leading economist and conservative intellectual. He is no stranger to controversy, so I'm sure that he is unfazed by criticism of this book, of which there is much. He is also the father of a late-talking son--now an adult and a computer programmer.Sowell is not hawking any specific treatment for late talkers, not does he claim that his perspective applies to every late-talking child. He describes a specific group of children whose late talking seems to be related to other characteristics, including musical ability, good memory, and puzzle-solving skill, often with family members who have similar abilities. Working with a researcher at Vanderbilt University, Sowell has collected a significant amount of evidence regarding this type of late-speaking child, which he presents in this engaging book in his usual straightforward and readable style. He does not discourage parents of late-talking children from seeking capable intervention (his own son John saw a speech therapist), nor does he claim that all late-talkers are in the Einstein syndrome. He merely adds to our knowledge of the range of types of late talking. This infusion of knowledge and common sense is comforting to many parents.Sowell also has a suggestive theory about the neurophysiological basis of late talking. Highly simplified, it is that as the brain applies its resources in one area, it invests fewer resources in others. His comparisons of the Einstein syndrome with other syndromes (like Williams syndrome) provide interesting support for this idea.Of course, those with another method to sell--or whose experience does not line up with Sowell's--will criticize this book. But their attacks are basically irrelevant because Sowell is talking only about a specific group of children, and for the families of those children, his work on this topic is vaulable. I don't like the title "The Einstein Syndrome," because (while Einstein, a late talker, was perhaps one example of this syndrome) Einstein was a highly unusual person and is a kind of historical celebrity. Even the late talkers that Sowell discusses are not going to grow up to be Einsteins, and I think the title appeals to the vanity of parents. But these are parents who need a little comfort, and there is no doubt that a catchy title sells.

我が子も5歳まで話さずにいましたが、完璧なバイリンガルに育ち在住国の一番難しいとされる学校に通うようになりました。言葉を話すのは遅いものの、親としっかり目が合い、複雑な指示が通っていることと、友だちが多く非常に愛情深い子でしたのであまり心配はしませんでした。アインシュタインシンドロームに関してはカウンセラーはご存知のようでしたが児童精神科医は2012年時点では知らなかったようです。もっと広まれば誤診も減るのではと思います。

The explanations are well reasoned, it is well explained, and different cases of bright late talkers are explained. Very recommendable!

I enjoyed reading this book. It has lots of insights and spot on observations. It’s worth reading if you have a child with speech delay.

An eye-opening book. As the parent of a child who fits this classification to the letter, from family background to the reaction that they have to her gifts and her stubbornness at nursery, I can say that this book is an absolute gem. I had never heard of the 'condition' until an educational consultant working with an organization for gifted children recommended it, and I have to say it's a great relief to have found out about it. It had gotten to the point where I had to show videos of my child counting to 100, saying her alphabet, solving mazes in under 10 seconds, etc. at nursery, for them to even consider the idea that she may not be autistic, hyperlexic or anything other than a gifted child who simply feels pressured unnecessarily into doing the most boring things imaginable for absolutely no reason other than the gratification of some people with pre-conceived ideas, who behave as if they want her to fail just to prove their point. And don't even get me started on that whole 'high-functioning autistic' non-sense. You can't expect to put people with an IQ just above sea level with savants and anything else in between in the same category and expect nobody to think it's absolutely ludicrous. And there's no such thing as a 'happy case of cured autism'; only mistaken diagnoses.Finally, there's some recognition for the fact that a child can be an autodidact, and nobody at home makes them study anything to 'turn them' into zombies. Finally, there's the suggestion that just because some children don't perform on demand, it doesn't mean that they're unable to. And finally, there's an acknowledgment of the fact that it's bonkers to label 3-year-olds, instead of waiting to see how they develop by themselves in a year's time. I know exactly what my child is going through, because I was in her shoes 25 years ago. I would have been labelled a high-functioning autistic by today's standards. I was expelled from nursery for not interacting with other children, as if nursery's supposed to be a hang-out where you're supposed to go and hook up like some randy bachelor in a bar, not the place where your parents dump you so they can have a few quiet hours to themselves (which, I'm sorry to say, parents, it is). Whoever thinks nursery is a place to study and make friends most definitely isn't gifted, and to act as though all children should behave the same way their parents did 30 years ago is also incredibly naive. Also, to put your child's future in the hands of people who have only ever been told that what they're doing is right, without knowing what the alternatives are, is equally foolish. So, thank you, Mr. Sowell, for a well-written book, that I hope gifted children with speech delays will benefit from in the future, because right now it looks as though not much has changed from the time when Ritalin was dispensed like mints. And good luck to all you parents out there who have been made to feel like your child is too much to handle, placing too big a burden on the educational system, or that you're in denial about your child's (in)abilities. Hang in there and prove them wrong!

It definitely provides a different perspective on the whole late talking issue. Anxious and desperate parents are ready to turn to anything that apparently can help their child because they do not have all the right information available. This books gives a very good overview of what research tells us and adds anecdotal evidence.Many speech language pathologists and speech related organizations dislike this book because it in many ways considers them irrelevant. A must read for a parent with a late talking child.