Arrrgh!.. another misguided, outdated and misunderstood reflection on Autism...

In The Memory Illusion, Dr. Julia Shaw offers an engaging and accessible look at the quirks and fallibilities of human memory. It's a compelling read overall—but one chapter, titled Memory Wizards, raises some concerns that are worth unpacking.

In it, Shaw explores exceptional memory, particularly in individuals with autism, drawing on examples of savants who can recall vast amounts of information with extraordinary precision. While these stories are undeniably intriguing, the chapter leans heavily on a familiar and problematic trope: the portrayal of autistic people as either possessing genius-level abilities or being significantly impaired.

Dr Shaw, if you must discuss autism , at least familiarise yourself with current thinking not grossly outdated concepts. It jeopardises the credibility of the rest of your research.

This binary framing reflects a dated understanding of autism—one that doesn’t align with contemporary research or the lived experience of many autistic individuals. Autism is a spectrum, not a scale of giftedness versus deficit. It encompasses a wide range of cognitive profiles, sensory experiences, communication styles, and ways of engaging with the world. Focusing only on savantism risks reducing the complexity and richness of autistic lives to a handful of extreme outliers.

Moreover, this kind of framing can perpetuate misconceptions. It reinforces stereotypes that can be damaging: the notion that autistic people are only valuable or interesting if they have “superpowers,” or that their experiences are defined entirely by deficit if they don’t. Such narratives flatten the spectrum and obscure the diversity within it.

It's surprising to encounter this kind of language in a book published as recently as 2016. By then, the neurodiversity movement and broader discussions around inclusive, person-centred understandings of autism had gained significant ground.

Books like The Memory Illusion reach wide audiences and help shape public understanding of complex topics like memory and cognition. That’s why it’s especially important that representations of autism within them move beyond outdated clichés and reflect the full humanity of those on the spectrum—not just their perceived “extraordinary” qualities.