Growing in to Autism

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I strongly recommend to anyone going through this process that you take someone with you who knows you well. This is a comprehensive study of one woman's autism and, as such, it will be extremely helpful for anybody who thinks they might be autistic themselves or who knows somebody who has been diagnosed with autism.

I thought he was perfect the way he was, but as he progressed through school he learned to behave like everyone else – a pattern I should have recognised. I was at the time seriously considering continuing with a psychology major, but I was counselled by the university careers adviser that there weren’t many jobs for psychologists and that perhaps I didn’t have the “people skills” for that career. Lots of detail about the way in which the author experiences the world around her and the difficulties she has faced and have been exacerbated by her delayed diagnosis. I had many conversations with my husband where I tried to explain that I felt my life was passing me by and I was missing something fundamentally important, but I couldn’t work out what it was. But from the inside looking out, she was struggling to make sense of her place in the world, constantly feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, and convinced that her challenges with daily life just meant that she had to try harder.A fascinating insight into how challenging life can be when one doesn't fit into many of the normative expectations and accommodations for 'neurotypical' people. She was astonished that this was received very badly, she was rude; but it was simply a “fact” to her. The “at home with my family” me was somewhere in between the two of these but still felt the need to keep certain aspects of herself hidden even from her closest family members in case they realised just how damaged she was.

I hope it encourages them to recognise the value in neurodiversity, to reach out to the autistic people in their life to find out how they would like to be supported, and to help them create a more inclusive world. As a late diagnosed Autistic, I found myself nodding in agreement on every second page, feeling a fair bit of comradery and validation. What if autism wasn’t the explanation for my difference and challenges, and I was just a flawed neurotypical?The book ends with an extensive list of references for readers wishing to extend their knowledge even further. I would read this again, mostly to skip to parts that I really felt encouraged me in advocating for myself and exploring my unique ways of doing things. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and looked forward to reading about Thom-Jones' experiences as an Autistic woman. This was a profound awakening - throughout her life she had been masking her true self and this effort had come at great physical, mental and emotional cost. We acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands on which Melbourne University Publishing stands and we pay our respect.