Inside an Autistic World

Subtitled 'spiritual experiences of people with autism', this extraordinary book recounts the development and memories of three autistic individuals through a technique called Facilitated Communication. Two of the individuals - Erik and Andreas - are twins and the conversation takes place with their mother, Hilke. If one is to believe Erik's account, he was an anthroposophist in his previous 20th century incarnation and died at Bergen-Belsen as a result of torture for having hidden Jewish friends. This experience apparently made him extremely reluctant to incarnate and goes a long way to explaining his present condition when he did not initially wish to speak. The descriptions of his experiences are graphic and disturbing, but they are redeemed by his perception and understanding of Christ, who apparently persuaded him to incarnate and continue the process of human evolution. He describes the Nazi period as one of the darkest and explains that the guards and torturers would have had to experience what it is like to be on the receiving end of their treatment in their life review. This scarcely bears thinking about, especially as these same guards were driven by fear that they themselves would be killed if they failed to follow orders. It turns out that the third character, Martin, remembers being a guard at Dachau and being compelled to carry out appalling orders. All this is explained within the framework of Rudolf Steiner's philosophy of evil involving Ahriman. The reader gains a further important insight into the inner condition of autistic people and realises that they have in many cases an exquisite sensitivity and concern with spiritual development; they may also have clairvoyant abilities and the capacity to communicate with nature spirits. It seems that the distinction normally drawn between inner and outer is different for these individuals. This is certainly an eye-opening book.