When we found out Lauren had autism, a very insensitive doctor said to my husband and me, "You're taking this news very well. I expected you to be crying by now!"...to which I answered, "Well, I would prefer to discuss what we can do to help Lauren manage her condition than cry."
And that's when I started googling more about autism. My nephew is also on the spectrum so there was some basic knowledge. It was time to find out more, instead of wallow in self pity.
And these are the books I have found to be so so helpful. Love the picture? Kevin did an excellent job with this one!
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| Some of my favourite books on Autism |
Emergence: Labelled Autistic by Temple Grandin
This was my first ever book on Autism. I remember bringing this book with me to an event we had for Nestle in East Malaysia. It was my daily bedtime read and travel companion during those few days! I love Temple Grandin. If I get to meet her someday, I would thank her for her very straightforward, honest opinions. Her writing is easy to understand, she uses simple language and sentences. And Dr Temple gives a great first hand insight into the mind of a person with Autism.
I have since read a couple more books by Temple Grandin: Thinking in Pictures, The Way I See It and I am now just starting on The Autistic Brain. You will see some familiar examples and similar experiences shared throughout her different books but I'm biased when it comes to Temple Grandin. I just love the way she writes and describes things. If you want to start with a book from Temple Grandin, I would recommend to start with Emergence: Labelled Autistic.
By the way, have you seen the HBO hit made-for-TV movie called "Temple"? Of course I watched it. I am a TV addict. More on that another time! Claire Danes played the title role as Dr Temple Grandin, she won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for it. Julia Ormond was also excellent as her mother. She won an Emmy for best supporting actress. And the movie itself won the Emmy for Best Made for TV movie. So if you're too lazy to pick up a book, watch this movie. It'll give you a pretty good insight into autism.
The Autism Sourcebook by Karen Siff Exkorn
Karen is mom to a boy who was diagnosed with Autism and through many, many hours of therapy, is now recovered from his previous condition. It's an amazing journey and even more amazing how dedicated Karen was in being the number 1 supporter through her son's intervention therapy - at least 25 hours a week! Some people say you never recover from Autism, that it is something you live with. Well, maybe yes, maybe no - that is up to you. What I like about this book is the way Karen has organized the information a parent needs to understand about Autism, what we can do about it, what therapy/methods exist and their pros and cons. It is very informative and also easy to understand. Indeed, a good sourcebook on Autism.
A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night by Mark Haddon
I read this book because I heard from someone (don't ask me who, I cannot remember!) say it is a book about a boy with Autism. Well, it isn't. Not really. It is never said explicitly anywhere in the story that Christopher (the title character) has got autism, but you get a sense that he might have this condition through some of the things he says for example this one,
"I got Siobhan to draw lots of these faces and then write down next to them exactly what they meant. I kept the piece of paper in my pocket and took it out when I didn't understand what someone was saying. But it was very difficult to decide which of the diagrams was most like the face they were making because people's faces move very quickly."
Anyway the reason I like this book is because it is well written, it's funny and it's quite amazing how different Christopher (and potentially a person with Autism) actually sees the world. Very differently from how we experience the world.
Latest book update:
The Reason I Jump was written by Naoki Higashida when he was just thirteen years old. He is now 22. This book has just recently been translated into English by a husband and wife team, Keiko Yoshida and David Mitchell, who also have a son with autism. Written Q&A style, I am finding this book interesting because it is giving answers to why people with autism do some of the things they do! Haven't you ever wanted to ask your friend, child, sibling with autism..."Why do you make a huge fuss over tiny mistakes?" or "Why do you wave goodbye with your palm facing yourself?"...well I have and now I know.
So there you have it. The books I would recommend you to read if you want to know more about autism.
"Read about me and you'll discover I'm pretty fun to get to know..." Autism.
It's been so great to see how much both you and Kevin have gained from books such as these and it's from you both that we've learnt much. Keep up the reading and learning!
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