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What do economist Walter Williams, botanist George Washington Carver, mathematician Julia Robinson, and physicists Albert Einstein and Edward Teller have in common?

In the early 90's Professor Sowell wrote a column about his son John after his son's graduation from college. He told about John's being a late talker, his family's concern, the labels others attached to John in spite of his being very bright, and John's successes. He struck a chord with other parents. Over 50 families contacted Sowell.

Their children had astounding similarities to John. All but seven of the children were boys. All of the children had close relatives--parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts or uncles--in analytical fields, such as engineers, accountants, economists, etc. Many of the children showed unusual musical talent and had family members who were musical. Most of the children were affectionate to family members, bright, slow to potty train, disliked change, disliked noise, and communicated by pointing when young. They also have a higher incidence of allergies than in the general environment. All the children in the group had above average to extremely good memories. Some learned to read and write early. Most of the older children had overcome the disability of talking late and had become bright, even brilliant , students.

Some of these families sought out special help while others did not. The children seemed to do better with more personal care from the families than under the structured format of traditional classrooms. It is not clear whether those children who received professional speech therapy spoke sooner or better than those who did not.

Sowell tells the stories of several of these children, mainly in their parents' words. Some of the families dealt with labels of autism placed on their children by school officials though professionals strongly disagreed with the labeling. Indeed, some of the family's biggest problems with the children came through schools, nursery schools, and professional therapists. Some of the families found excellent therapists who, they believed, were a great help.

Sowell suggests his own theory about what goes on in these children's brains though he is careful to let the reader know that this is only his theory. He calls for more scientific studies of these children. He believes that some genetic trigger calls for the analytical and/or musical areas of the brain, which are close together in the brain, to develop strongly. This may infringe on the brain's ability to grow in the verbal and infection-fighting areas.

Late-Talking Children is very readable but includes Dr. Sowell's careful observation of detail. While not claiming to be a scientific treatise, he uses some scientific approaches. Parts of the book fascinate. For parents of late-talking children, this book may give them hope and encouragement.