John Elder Robison

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (February 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

John Elder Robison is the author of the New York Times Bestseller Look Me in the Eye, (Crown Publishers, 2007) a memoir about living with Asperger's syndrome. He is the elder brother of Augusten Burroughs, who also wrote about his childhood in the memoir Running with Scissors.

Contents 1 Early Years 2 On His Own 3 Notes and references 4 External links

[edit] Early Years

Robison was born in 1957 in Athens, Georgia. He is the son of poet and writer Margaret Robison and the late John G. Robison, head of the philosophy department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. ^[1]

"It’s a lonely story at first, because I didn’t have many friends. I didn’t know how to act, or how to respond. As a child, my best friends were all machines."John Robison

[edit] On His Own

Unable to fit in at home or at school, Robison dropped out of high school at 16 to join Fat, a local band. A few years later his savant-like ability to design electronic circuits allowed him to work for Pink Floyd's sound company (Britro) and then Kiss, for whom he created their signature illuminated, fire-breathing, and rocket launching guitars. He subsequently designed electronic games at toy maker Milton Bradley. Robison then worked for Simplex Time Recorder (now SimplexGrinnell), Isoreg Corporation (now defunct) and Candela Laser of Wayland, Massachusetts before realizing he did not fit in the corporate world and starting an automobile repair and restoration business in his back yard. That business - J E Robison Service Co - proved successful, growing into one of the largest independent Land Rover, Rolls Royce and Bentley specialty shops in the country and becoming one of only 20 four-star service agents for Bosch of Germany.

Robison lives in Amherst, Massachusetts, with his wife and son.

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] External links

• Official site
• Interview with Kelly Hewitt of Loaded Questions
• Look Me In The Eye - Robison's blog
• Robison Service - Robison's automobile repair and restoration company
• Dr. John G. Robison, Robison's Father
• Margaret Robison, poet and author, Robison's mother