The Forum
John Elder Robison
Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Zorn Arena | 7:30 P.M.
When he was three or four years old, John Elder Robison realized
that he was different from other people. He was unable to make
eye contact or connect with other children. As a teenager his
odd habits included blurting out non-sequiturs, obsessively
dismantling radios, and digging five-foot holes and sticking
his younger brother (author Augusten Burroughs) into them.
It didn’t help, either, that
his mother conversed with light fixtures
and his father spent his evenings pickling himself in sherry.
In his bestselling 2007 memoir, Look Me in the Eye, Robison
tells his story of growing up with Asperger’s syndrome - a
high-functioning form of autism - at a time when the diagnosis
simply didn’t exist. Before Robison learned the name of his
condition at
age 40, his rare insight into machines and electronics
had led him
to jobs designing special-effects guitars for the
rock band KISS, creating toys for Milton Bradley, and founding a
multimillion-dollar
car specialty shop. Though his story is unique,
it is rich with clues to spotting autism in children and
harnessing
the best from those who are diagnosed. Robison will discuss
how we can live according to
our gifts, not our limitations.
Interpreted for the deaf and hard of hearing.
More information: www.johnrobison.com
Tickets for The Forum are $8 for the public, $6 for those 62 and older and UW System
or Chippewa Valley Technical College faculty and staff, and $4 for those 17 and younger
and UW System or CVTC students. Student tickets are half-price ($2) until the day of the
event. On the day of the event, students will be required to pay the full student ticket price.
Tickets are available at the Service Center in the east lobby of Davies Center and will be
sold at the door. Patrons may charge tickets to MasterCard or Visa when they order by
phone. Call 715-836-3727 or, outside the immediate Eau Claire area, call toll-free
800-949-UWEC. A $3 handling fee will be added to all telephone charge orders.
The Forum & Artist Series 2009-2010 -- Brochure (pdf)
The Forum & Artist Series 2009-2010 -- Printable Ticket Order Form (pdf)
