Authors: Donna Henderson, Sarah Wayland, and Jamell White
Routledge Publishing, 2023.
Though this book is labeled for clinicians, it really is for everyone who has an interest in autism. It is well written and easily accessible with an absence of jargon. It is a must read for everyone with autism, who has a family member with autism, or who is a clinician, particularly if you don’t specialize in autism.
The authors build on the concept that to best understand the neurodiversity manifested in autism, talking with autistic people gives a perspective that has been missing in the field until now. Each chapter looks at various aspects of autism and shows how it may feel for the autistic person, may manifest in subtle and unusual ways, and may be masked by the person who is trying to blend into the neurotypical world. Cultural influences are also discussed.
Each chapter looks at how the current diagnostic criteria in the DSM-5-TR and the ICD-11 are based on a medical model of disorder and deficiency in a particular area. The authors then describe how a view of autism as a neurodivergency can lead to a better understanding of what autism looks and feels like. Each chapter goes into detail about one of the areas of difficulty described in the DSM-5-TR and how more subtle presentations can be found that are typically missed by clinicians. Each chapter also incorporates the voices of people with autism reflecting on that presentation. For example, the book discusses why autistic people generally like routines and sameness and have more difficulty with sudden changes and arbitrariness. This can look like to others who are not autistic like stubbornness, being set in one’s ways, or inflexibility, something negative. Nevertheless, this seemingly negative symptom has a positive purpose for the autistic person in controlling anxiety and emotional overresponsiveness. Thus, it is not that the behavior is wrong, but more that it can be an encumbrance in certain circumstances and may limit what the autistic person may want to do.
The book discusses how people who are autistic learn to mask their symptoms. Masking is important because while it can enable an autistic person to appear to fit in with neurotypical people, it can also leave the autistic person feeling different and separate. They know they are different but may go a lifetime without knowing why. Because they mask so well, they can be missed in formal evaluations. Finally, the book focuses on the strengths of autism, how they are important not only for autistic people but also for nonautistic people and for society as a whole.