Dr. Richard Grinker is an anthropologist, who has a 15 year old daughter with autism.  When his daughter, Isabel, was diagnosed in 1994, autism was a strange word to most people; it was considered a rarity, occurring in about 3 of every 10,000 births.  However, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), today the rate of autism is one in every 150 births-quite an increase in the last 13 years.

Dr. Grinker has written a book, Unstrange Minds: Remapping the World of Autism, based on his own experience as a father, and his research as an anthropologist.  In his book he "skillfully combines the story of his family's journey through autism with comparisons of autism awareness, autism treatment, and struggles with autism faced by families in other countries around the world".  He discusses the history of the diagnosis and the evolution in the United States of the recognition and acceptance of the diagnosis of autism.

Dr. Grinker earned his A.B. degree from Grinnell College and his doctorate in anthropology from Harvard University.  He has been a professor of Anthropology at George Washington University since 2001.

Dr. Grinker will present a lecture, "What in the World is Autism? How Culture Shapes an Illness," on Thursday, October 11th, from 9:30 am until 11:30 am, in the Grise Hall Auditorium.  (Please note the change in location.)  At 4:00 pm that afternoon, there will be a Community Forum with Dr. Grinker at the Clinical Education Complex (104 Fourteenth Street), with a book signing immediately following. 

If you plan to attend either event or would like more information, please call the Clinical Education Complex at 270-745-2183.