At one point during my extended break from all things computers and Internet and fun, I was given a reading assignment of sorts: a chapter out of some ridiculous New-Age-type book on autism (because I am autistic, so it falls upon me to read autism-related kookery, I guess). It’s quite possibly the most painful thing I’ve ever read, so I figured if I had to suffer, I might as well have my little fun with it – in that I spent all night laboriously translating it from the original French and typing it up with my added commentary. And now, you all get to suffer with me. (You’re welcome.)
And so, without further ado, I present to you: A point-by-point takedown of a chapter from Au-delà des limites de l’autisme: La Quête et les révélations d’une mère (English: Beyond the Limits of Autism: A mother’s Quest and revelations) (p.203–228), by Nadine Primeau. Bracketed red text is my commentary. The screaming is your own.
Today, after having lived numerous experiences in diverse ways and at different levels where the human being is concerned, I cannot stay silent about the nature of autism according to all that I’ve lived and all the observations I’ve made. [Get used to the grandiloquence. It’s even worse in the original French.] Although I haven’t really identified the causes of autism in this book [I hope not, considering the causes aren’t yet understood], the scientist in me [You don’t get to call yourself that, even figuratively], the one who’s always sought to understand all throughout these years without ever being satisfied all this time, must now deliver its definition of autism. [My breath is bated, dear medically untrained and unqualified writer.] This hypothesis must be known so that people question themselves, open their consciousness and perhaps grasp what I reveal here. [Oh, god.] With this information, which comes without contradiction from my inner laboratory, where I’ve seen, experimented, felt, analyzed and understood major points about autism, I must deliver this information. [I swear that sentence doesn’t make an iota more sense in the original.] Even if I know, in my heart, that they’ll bother certain people, they must be heard, it’s a question in my opinion of transforming this world towards a better life. [I’ll settle for transforming you into a better writer. Seriously, all of this is [sic], translated to mean exactly what it does in the original French. The woman just can’t write.]
