Author: Sandra Thom-Jones

Category: Memoir

Publisher: Melbourne University Press

Publication date: 30 August 2022

Blurb: What’s it like to realise you’re autistic? And how do you start to ask the world around you to accept that?

From the outside looking in, Sandra Thom-Jones was living a successful life: she had a great career, a beautiful home, a caring husband, two loving sons and supportive friends. 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. In Growing In to Autism, Thom-Jones tells the story of gradually realizing that she was autistic, and that she experienced the world in ways which were markedly different from neurotypical people. 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. Applying her skills as an experienced and expert researcher, Thom-Jones delved into the literature on autism in adults, learning much more than she already knew as a parent of two autistic boys. Part personal, funny, endearing and enlightening memoir, and part rigorous explication of the nature of autism, Growing in to Autism is a book for all people, memorably conveying the need for better understanding and ways of making space for a group of individuals in our society who have so much to offer.

Review: This book was recommended to me when I posted in some groups about reading Different, Not Less by Chloe Hayden, and looking for some books by women who had been diagnosed in their 40s or later. I was excited when I found it in the library.

There were so many times that I wished I had bought this book instead of borrowing it from the library as the author articulated my experience in ways I have been struggling to, from experiences at school to early days of parenting, and I wanted to underline different parts to revisit them at a later date.

There are some bits I couldn’t relate to as I also have ADHD, however this book was a good read and a great resource for other late diagnosed autistic women, and those around them. It is also one that I have recommended to quite a few late diagnosed autistic women too.

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Author: Clem Bastow

Category: Memoir

Publisher: Hardie Grant Books

Publication date: 7 July 2021

Blurb: Introducing a bold new voice in Australian nonfiction, Late Bloomer is a heartfelt coming-of-age memoir that will change the way you think about autism.

Clem Bastow grew up feeling like she’d missed a key memo on human behaviour. She found the unspoken rules of social engagement confusing, arbitrary and often stressful. Friendships were hard, relationships harder, and the office was a fluorescent-lit nightmare of anxiety. It wasn’t until Clem was diagnosed as autistic, at age 36, that things clicked into focus.

The obsession with sparkly things and dinosaurs. The encyclopaedic knowledge of popular music. The meltdowns that would come on like a hurricane. The ability to write eloquently while conquering basic maths was like trying to understand ancient Greek. These weren’t just ‘personality quirks’ but autistic traits that shaped Clem’s life in powerful ways.

With wit and warmth, Clem reflects as an autistic adult on her formative experiences as an undiagnosed young person, from the asphalt playground of St Joseph’s Primary School in Melbourne to working as an entertainment journalist in Hollywood. Along the way she challenges the broader cultural implications and ideas around autism, especially for women and gender-diverse people. Deconstructing the misconceptions and celebrating the realities of autistic experience, Late Bloomer is as heartbreaking as it is hilarious, and will stay with you long after the reading.

Review: This book was recommended to me by more than one person, and when I spotted it on the shelf at my local library, I was excited. The librarian thought it was funny as I actually clapped and cheered when I saw it!

I found the start of the book hard going, but I’m so glad I persisted. So many of Clem’s experiences at school mirrored my own, including secondary school experiences. I suspect we went through school at a similar time. There were so many moments in this book that I thought ‘Hey, me too!’

For other late-diagnosed autistic women, this is a good book to read, especially those who went to school in the 80s and 90s.

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Author: Yvon Roy

Category: Memoir

Publisher: Titan Books

Publication date: 7 July 2020

Blurb: The award-winning graphic novel autobiography of a father, and the challenges he faces raising his autistic son.

A beautiful visual exploration of the highs and lows experienced by a parent learning how to adapt to his son’s autism. Faced with a challenging road ahead, the author uses creative flair and ingenuity in order to connect with his son, enabling him to reach his fullest potential and prepare him for the transition into adulthood.

This stunning insight into the nature of autism and the daily struggles of a parent uses humor and compassion to convey its message. This is the perfect creative outlet for anyone – from parent to teacher – looking for detailed information on the subject with a more personal touch.

Yvon Roy won the Best Biography Award from the Disability Fund and Society, as well as reciving the INSPIREO High School Students Award for the most inspiring youth book, and the Literary Award for Citizenship from the Maine Teacher’s League.

Review: I’m really conflicted by this book. As an autistic parent of an autistic child, I found this book both interesting and frustrating. The author was honest about his feelings of overwhelm and projecting to his son, and the same time doing things that many autistic do to mask, like making eye contact. Some of the strategies seemed good, and others frustrated me, especially the feeling that his child had to be ‘normal’. Then again, I’m guilty of ableist attitudes before I knew better.

It was an interesting story and, I think, an honest account from one parent’s experience, but had some issues when it comes to a modern understanding of autism. If you’re reading this, realise that it’s just one parent’s experience, it’s not a book about autism in general.

The graphic novel format of this book was fun and I enjoyed the illustrations.

The post Review: Little Victories appeared first on There's a J In there... Somewhere!.

This is a list of books that I have read. I will update this post as I read more. If there are any amazing books you’ve read that should be added to this list, please let me know in the comments. I’m especially interested in positive representation and stories of late diagnosed autistic women.

With the fiction books, these are stories where the main character is identified as autistic or ADHD. There is another list with characters I think are neurospicy, however they aren’t identified as such. That post is here.

This is simply a list, I will add reviews as I get around to it.

Memoir

• Different, Not Less by Chloe Hayden
• Growing into Autism by Sandra Thom-Jones
• What I Mean When I Say I’m Autistic by Annie Kotowicz
• Little Victories by Yvon Roy (parent of an autistic child)
• Late Bloomer by Clem Bastow

Non-Fiction

• Aspergirls by Rudy Simone

Novels

• The Wonderful Thing about Phoenix Rose by Josephine Moon
• The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
• .Wishing on a Star by Mandy Baggot (main character is the mother of an autistic child, however I think she is autistic too!)
• Act Your Age Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

Middle Grade Novels

• Paws by Kate Foster
• Harriet Hound by Kate Foster
• The Unlikely Heroes Club by Kate Foster
• The Secret Science Society’s Spectacular Experiment by Kathy Hoopmann & Josie Montano
• The Secret Science Society in Space by Josie Montano & Kathy Hoopmann
• A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll
• The Thing About Oliver by Deborah Kelly (the main character is the sibling of an autistic brother)

Picture Books

• The Wobbly Wallaby and the Absolute Bandicoot by Pamela Jacqueline and Irene Brown
• Talking is not my thing by Rose Robbins
• It Was Supposed to be Sunny by Samantha Cotterill
• A Friend Like Mine by Samantha Warne (book about children with disability, not neurospicy specific)
• Alexander the Avoider by Nicole Filippone
• Roseanne the Seeker by Nicole Filippone
• Paisley the Perfectionist by Nicole Filippone
• Some Brains by Nelly Thomas
• The Me You Don’t See by Sam Matthews
• The Big Hungry Tree by Jo Rothwell
• Unmasking Milie by Millie Carr & Polina Povshedna
• Forgetful Freddie by Manisha J Poudyal & Jonathon Klassen
• Why Johnny Doesn’t Flap: NT is OK! by Clay Morton, Gail Morton & Alex Merry
• Don’t Tell Me What to Do by Renee Connoulty

Middle Grade Non Fiction

• Perfectly Weird, Perfectly You by Camilla Pang

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