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While a diagnosis for young Isabel's symptoms - which typically include having problems with social interaction, communication and the brain's cognitive function - was relieving, Grinker said he and his wife's poor understanding of autism was unsettling.
"We felt very isolated and alone because we didn't know anyone with this disorder," said Grinker, who teaches anthropology, human sciences and international affairs at GW. "As time went on, people started to ask me questions about it and I looked at the literature and found we knew very little about autism outside of North America and the United Kingdom."
So Grinker, true to his nature as a social anthropologist, became determined over the years to find out more. He traveled the globe - from South Korea to South Africa to India - to study autistic people in each country and compare the disability's influence across regions. He compiled personal stories and cross-cultural findings into his fifth published book called, "Unstrange Minds: Remapping the World of Autism," on sale Monday.
"Over the past 10 years there's been a big transformation for what autism is seen as. I realized that cultural background, even in the United States, is significant," he said. "Often it's culture that changes science."
Grinker saw this firsthand when he met the Khumalo family, from the Zulu tribe in South Africa, who didn't know what to do about their six-year-old son who had stopped talking, avoided all eye contact and made strange hand movements.
Finally, his parents Suzanna and Golden Khumalo took him to a local witchdoctor, expecting goat sacrifices, expulsion of evil and an ancient tribal diagnosis, and after two days the witchdoctor had the answer - it was autism. Now, the family knows more than can be imagined about the disability that affects their son, Grinker said.
