Switched On

Switched On: A Memoir of Brain Change and Emotional Awakening by John Elder Robison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This memoir tells what happened when John Elder Robison bravely volunteered to participate in a 2008 study to see what effects transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) would have on the so-called social deficits that characterize people on the autism spectrum. Mr. Robison was in his forties when he was diagnosed with Asperger's. Although he's a successful inventor, businessman, autism consultant and author, he says he's always felt like an outsider because of his blindness to emotional cues. After one TMS session, the "doors of perception" blew open. He wept tears of joy as he vividly re-experienced a rock concert he had attended decades before. After another session, he felt a soul-to-soul connection with members of an audience during his presentation on autism. Although the intensity of these initial reactions faded in time, as he was told they would, he continues seven years later to be more outgoing and sympathetic to the feelings of others. Not all of the outcomes have been favorable, however. His marriage ended. So did a relationship when Robison finally realized the "friend" had been subtly, and publicly, ridiculing him for years. I read this book because I am interested in how the brain works. especially for someone with autism.  Robison foresees a day when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may approve TMS for the treatment of conditions other than depression, the only one it currently approves.

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Butterfly Gals

Butterfly gals, won't you come out tonight,

Come out tonight, come out tonight?

Butterfly gals, won't you come out tonight

And dance by the light of the moon?*

Only three chrysalises left. We hope they'll emerge and fly away before we fly away for a few days.  The one on the glass is starting to darken, but the other two are still bright green. 

*from "Buffalo Gals," American folk tune. 

Leaving Home

Early Monday morning we found two black chrysalises.

These two would soon break out of their chrysalises.

After emerging, they hung on the wire lid of the terrarium for awhile.

Our information sheet said that the butterflies would be ready to fly after 90 minutes.

When they began opening and closing their wings,

we took the terrarium outside and removed the lid. Seven green chrysalises

remained attached to the lid, undisturbed. The two butterflies soon took off. 

This morning, six more emerged. 

We took the terrarium outside. 

One went to the bottom of the terrarium. It tried to climb 

the glass wall, but couldn't gain traction.

Then it climbed onto a branch inside the terrarium.

Phil moved the branch close to a milkweed.

The butterfly crawled onto a broad milkweed leaf. Like the other five, 

it spent a long time hanging out in the milkweed, opening and shutting its wings

and then resting. This group seemed to be in no hurry to take wing.

A swallowtail dropped by to show the monarchs

how to fly and where to find the choice nectar flowers. 

All Quiet on the Butterfly Front

All eleven of our caterpillars are now in chrysalises.

"One of these mornings,

You're going to rise up singing,

Then you'll spread your wings

And take to the sky . . "

Lyrics by Dubose Heyward in lullaby, "Summertime,"  from George Gershwin's PORGY & BESS