Ralph James Savarese
Ralph James Savarese is the author of ‘Reasonable People: A Memoir of Autism and Adoption’, which Newsweek called "a real life love story and a passionate manifesto for the rights of people with neurological disabilities." His thirteen-year-old son, who types to communicate, wrote the final chapter. Once written off as profoundly retarded, DJ is now 18 and a straight "A" student in an advanced curriculum at the local high school. Savarese is also the co-editor with his wife, Emily, of a special issue of Disability Studies Quarterly entitled ‘Autism and the Concept of Neurodiversity’. In addition to featuring the work of researchers in a range of fields, it also highlights the work of some twenty self-advocates from all along the spectrum. He is currently working on a book entitled ‘A Dispute with Nouns: Autism Poetry and the Sensing Body’. He teaches American literature, creative writing and disability studies at Grinnell College in Iowa.
