psychology

The Batavian correspondent Daniel Crofts’ new book, “The Myth of Autism: Autism as a Story of our Time” actually started out as a school project before its recent publication.

“Because it was a master’s thesis, there was a set timeline that forced me to really buckle down on it,” Crofts says. “That doesn’t mean I had to rush it or anything — I had a lot of time to focus on the project and to write it with care, and I’m very satisfied with the end result.”

Written over a seven-month period, the book, according to Crofts, examines autism as an important part of the history and development of modern society.

“If we want to understand autism, we can’t look at it in isolation,” he says. “We have to try to look at it in relation to modern Western culture as a whole.

Phenomenology served as Crofts’s main inspiration for the book. It is a field of philosophy (combined with psychology and the arts/humanities) that looks at given conditions in relation to living experience rather than scientific theories.

“I’ve found myself having a lot of compassion for autistic children and their families and wanting to help them in some way,” Crofts says. “The thing is, that help normally comes from a scientific angle, but I’ve always been much more humanities-oriented.

"When I first started reading on the subject [of phenomenology], I got to thinking how prominent autism is in our time and how this type of psychology could easily be applied to it.”

Crofts believes that his book does more to offer suggestions for how society can interact with the humanity of autistic individuals, rather than find a cure for them.

“As far as the message goes, we should make an effort to see autism as a phenomenon that is trying to tell us something about ourselves as individuals and as a culture,” he says.

“Instead of focusing on trying to ‘fix’ autistic children or objectifying them as mere subjects for study, we as a society should engage with them in a way that is mutually beneficial and transformative.

"My hope is that parents, teachers, therapists, and other professionals are inspired by the understanding of autism that I try to offer.”

“The Myth of Autism: Autism as a Story of our Time” can be ordered on Amazon through this link:

<http://www.amazon.com/Myth-Autism-Daniel-Crofts/dp/3838357256/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273690117&sr=1-4>

Kenneth Bradt, Ph.D, is one of four inductees for the Oakfield-Alabama High School Hall of Fame ceremony the first weekend in October.

They will be introduced to students at a pep rally Oct. 2 and recognized publicly at that night's football game.

The Hall of Fame honors will take place Oct. 3 at the O-A Middle-High School. Dinner begins at 5 p.m. with the ceremony following.

Bradt has had an illustrious career. To prepare for it, he attended Syracuse University with an interest in chemistry but found he was more intrigued by people’s decisions and behaviors. He quickly switched his major and earned his bachelor's and master’s degrees in psychology.

In 1951, he earned his doctorate in psychology at Illinois' Northwestern University.

After getting his education, Bradt achieved the rank of first lieutenant in the Army Medical Service. He served as chief clinical psychologist at the Army Hospital at Camp Atterbury, Ind., and later became a research psychologist with the Department of Defense in Washington, D.C..

During the '70s Bradt counseled CIA employees coping with unfamiliar, unpredictable and potentially dangerous situations. For his work, he received the Intelligence Medal of Merit from the CIA director for outstanding contributions to agency management.

For 21 years, Bradt shared his knowledge and wisdom with students at George Washington University, the University of Virginia and George Mason University.

In 1981, he was teaching at George Mason University and originated one of the first graduate-level courses in organizational leadership in the country.

In 2004, he was elected Fellow in the American Psychological Association in recognition of outstanding and unusual contributions to the science and profession of psychology. 

The other inductees are Dr. Robert Disasio, Donald Carroll and 1st. Lt. Harmon J. Norton, who will be represented by Joe Cassidy, the Town of Alabama historian. Some previous inductees will also be attending.

Tickets go on sale in late August at the school’s main office or from committee members. The public is welcome.