“How can you taste a color, or see the sound of the letter “M” as a fold of pink flannel? We all know what it means to talk about a bright sound, a dull flavor, or a sharp smell. We might even have some idea what it might mean if a poet described a flavor as “smooth green glass.” Now, imagine that every time you tasted a peppermint, you saw columns of green glass so vividly you could virtually reach out and touch them. The difference between someone with synesthesia and the rest of us is that “green-glass flavor” is a metaphor for us, but for a synesthete it could be overwhelmingly literal.”

"Written with an intelligent lay audience in mind, it explores ten human brain phenomena, drawing on the latest neuroscientific research..."
— Michael Loo, writer and violinist

This book for teachers and parents draws from very recent brain research to explain the causes and consequences of common diversities including: Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Dyslexia, Alcoholism, Autism, SAD (The Winter Blues), Left-handedness, Photographic Memory, Perfect Pitch, and even D ja Vu and Synesthesia. All of these have specific brain-to-body connections. This book provides diagnostic tests for the symptoms. It explains genetic and environmental factors that cause the conditions, along with consequences and correlations with other health matters that statistically accompany each condition. Each section includes checklists and testing exercises used for professional diagnosis of these cognitive abnormalities. The bibliography offers sources for further information and an index makes it a convenient handbook for people without technical training.