Growing in to Autism

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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. On the other hand, she lists aspects of autism that are an advantage in certain professions, like, as she says, academe. We nodded conspiratorially and shared many “a-ha” moments and giggles as we saw so much of him in the things we read.

I was diagnosed autistic at 44 and this book was recommended to me as one that would be useful, and it was. I reached a point in my life where I was unhappy, agitated, confused, and felt like something fundamentally essential was missing from my life, but I had no idea what it was. I think I would have been much kinder to myself if I had understood that many of my differences and challenges were due to my neurotype and not due to some fundamental character flaw or to not trying hard enough or being good enough. You will want to lend it to your neighbour, your child's teacher, your best friend, your lover, even your boss.

If you are anything like me, you will be stuck in your lifelong pattern of giving the “correct”, socially desirable answer to questions. It celebrates the uniqueness of the person and provides for us a vehicle for understanding the other. This book is for everyone especially those wanting a comprehensive understanding of Autism or for those experiencing it. This is an important book for neurotypicals in understanding autistic behaviours for what they are, and for other autistics to gain some self-insight possibly. She is an academic, author, artisan, and advocate for the inclusion of autistic people in all aspects of society.

When autism was mentioned as a possible diagnosis for her older son, her knowledge was like most people’s—based on stereotypes.If I had to boil it down to two key themes, the first would be that we need to stop seeing autistic people solely through the lens of our challenges and trying to ‘fix’ us so we fit in, and start seeing our strengths and valuing the meaningful contributions to society that come from our differences. I learned a lot and it will definitely help me to be more inclusive and understanding of people with autism. You can pick it up and try to put it down, but you will find yourself gripped by the narrative style, and will carry it with you everywhere until you are done. I found myself nodding along and chuckling to myself at how relateable many of the author's experiences were.

I wasn’t worried that I would be diagnosed autistic as I had self-identified that way for some time and was comfortable with it: I was worried that I would be diagnosed non-autistic. I hope that the book gives non-autistic readers some insight into what it is like to be an autistic person. Thom-Jones’ husband often provides interpretations of non-Autistic perspectives to situations which she finds perplexing. She learned from that and similar incidents to act according to her perceptions of what others expected of her: and to “mask” her autistic behaviours wherever possible, such as making noises, counting objects like lino tiles, repetitive behaviour (‘stimming”, self stimulation).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. Photograph: Melbourne University Press View image in fullscreen Professor Sandra Thom-Jones, author of Growing into Autism.