peeves is that the media portrays adult autistics as being capable of holding
the most menial of jobs. And don't get me wrong - if you or your child is
autistic and they are satisfied with folding pizza boxes or sorting at an office
- great. We should all do what is appropriate for our own desires and
abilities. However, for autistics out there who feel like they are hindered by
their diagnosis, I'd like to introduce you to some of my 'friends' - some other
adult autistics I've met through their writings - these 'friends' have done more
for me than any therapist ever thought about trying to do - they speak my
language from my world.
(all of the books mentioned are available on Amazon.com and sometimes
directly through the author's web sites)
three favorite authors
in detail, but if you are
really interested in
autistics - from their
point of view - look into
these authors as well:
Tony Attwood
Jen Birch
Liane Holliday-Willey
Jerry Newport
Jasmine Lee O'Neill
Valerie Paradiz
Edgar Schneider
Stephen Shore
(and lots of others
who's books I haven't
bought yet)
Also go to:
www.wrongplanet.net
for online support and
discussion with other
adult autistics
and
www.normalfilms.com
for an excellent DVD
made by and about
autistic adults
to really talk about being autistic. When I first read her books I felt like
someone had read my mind. She has written 3 main books: Emergence:
Labeled Autistic, Thinking in Pictures, Animals in Translation, and co
authored Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships (which all autistic adults
should read) as well as many articles. Her web site is
www.templegrandin.com - she has a Ph.D. in animal sciences.
each other that I remind them of this author. She learned the rules for
behaving in the human world by watching gorillas and feels closer to them
than to humans. Her major book is Songs of the Gorilla Nation but she has
also written other books about anthropology (in which she has a Ph.D.) and
an excellent book that she wrote while expecting her first child. I haven't
found a web site for her, so if you find one please email me!
