When I received my formal Autism diagnosis, I was also given a short reading list that I was told may be useful. None of the books on it were written in the last ten years and not a single one was written by an (openly at least) autistic writer. It felt like a huge miss. Fortunately there are many brilliant books written by autistic authors that do exist out there, and over the last couple of years I have devoured an awful lot of these, and learnt so much from them. I would love to talk through all of them, but for now I have picked three that have really resonated with me, which I’d highly recommend to others, and which I wish had had spots on that initial reading list I was given.
Safeguarding Autistic Girls – Carly Jones MBE
I’m not going to lie, to subject matter of this book is heavy and can be quite difficult to read at times because of this. But Carly does a brilliant job of writing with a perfect balance of seriousness and lightness, that makes it easier to process. Full of real-life examples and anecdotes, this book covers a plethora of examples of difficult and dangerous situations that autistic girls can find themselves in, the potential reasons behind these, and clear strategics to use to improve safety or address the situation.
Carly talks through tough topics, ranging from eating disorders to teen pregnancy, from domestic violence to mate crime. It could all feel very bleak, and leave the reader feeling like the world is just too scary a place for an autistic girl, but Carly manages to infuse a sense of hope and positivity throughout, not shying away from difficult topics but also showing the reader how we can work to improve things and build safety into the world of girls who desperately need it.
Admittedly I read this from the perspective of having been one of those autistic girls myself. Perhaps if I were reading from the perspective of a parent of an autistic girl I’d be more worried and less buoyed by hope of change, it’s hard to say. But were I one of those parents, I am pretty sure I would feel comforted just to know there are people out in the world like Carly, fighting tooth and nail to make the world better and safer and happier for future generations of autistic folk.
I recognised a worryingly high number of these examples as relevant to my own life, and I imagine this will be true of many autistic women. While written specifically about autistic girls, Carly herself acknowledges that this would be relevant to all genders, writing specifically for girls as this is her own lived experience and main area of focus for her work. I’d agree that this book would be crucial reading for anyone who is either autistic themselves, supports autistic people…or really anyone in a support role given that, whether they know it or not, they will undoubtedly come into contact with autistic folk. We do appear to be everywhere – who knew!
The #ActuallyAutistic Guide to Advocacy – Jennifer Brunton Ph.D. and Jenna Gensic M.A.
This is a slightly different book to those I’ve been used to reading, in terms of the content. It focuses on the importance of learning from #ActuallyAutsitic voices when it comes to all things advocacy in the autistic space. In this way, it is perhaps more directly aimed at non-autistic readers, but it definitely has a lot to offer for autistics too, in terms of being a better advocate – whether for ourselves or for others.
Both writers are American, which made me wonder initially if it would be all that relevant to me here in the UK, or if some elements would be somewhat lost in translation. But I needn’t have worried as everything remained just as relevant and relatable, with only perhaps a few of the external organisations referenced being more US-focussed, understandably.
The book in broken down nicely into different stages and steps, providing great examples of strategies and tips to improve self-advocacy and advocacy on behalf of others. Throughout the book, the writers centre the autistic voice and lived experience, and much of the content and examples come from a large collection of autistic interviewees who were consulted as part of the writing process. Capturing a huge range of experiences and viewpoints, this really highlights the importance of listening to the #ActuallyAutsitic community and their wants and needs, rather than, as is sadly often the case with non-autistic advocates, however well-meaning they may be, making assumptions based on their own view from the outside.
Potential conflicts within the advocacy community, concerns over language use, over the focus of research and campaigning efforts are covered with care and consideration, and the book as a whole left me with many things to think about in my own journey. I took away so many useful tips and pointers from this, as well as feeling seen and understood as part of the wider autistic community, as so many of my own views and perspectives were reflected in here. It’s clear the writers are genuinely passionate about advocacy and supporting the autistic community in the ways they want, rather than making assumptions or relying on stereotypes. This is a book I’m sure I will find myself coming back to again and again.
Avoiding Anxiety in Autistic Adults – Dr Luke Beardon
To be honest, this could be replaced or added to with any book that Luke has written as I’d highly recommend anything by him, but this one, for me, slightly pips the others in terms of content that is widely useful and perhaps addresses an issue that is less commonly found in other publications. It is a sad fact that you will find it hard to discover an autistic person who hasn’t experienced anxiety at one time or another. Indeed, Luke posits that ‘autistic anxiety’ is a somewhat different beast, or at least experienced to a different (greater) degree than within the non-autistic community. But if you are autistic, being anxious should not be taken as an inevitability, and Luke champions a world where suitable support is provided to enable autistic folk to live a life free from anxiety, or at least experiencing it at much reduced levels. The book itself is fairly short, coming in at 127 pages, and I found the writing style accessible and with a friendly, conversational tone, rather than heavy or academic, despite the serious nature of the topic. It made for easy reading and I finished this particular book in one sitting, although it’s also broken into quite short and concise chapters that make dipping in and out simple as well if you only have a few minutes to spare at a time. There’s also an audiobook version, read by Luke himself, for those who prefer to listen. The book is predominantly aimed at autistic folk, although I’d say it’s a brilliant read for anyone wanting to understand more and seeking to support autistic people. Luke’s view is heavily aligned with the social model of disability, in that he sees oftentimes the expectations of the non-autistic society as being a significant cause of distress and anxiety for autistic folk. His self-professed ‘golden equation’ of “Autism + Environment = Outcome” (Beardon) is simple but powerful, and reminds us that we cannot, and should not, seek to change the autistic person, but rather the environment around them, in order to provide a safer and more comfortable space. The book offers various potential strategies to reduce anxiety and find ways of living that are more suitable for autistic people, as well as outlining throughout a set of potential reasonable adjustments to provide better support. Covering areas such as employment, university and healthcare access the book provides a range of useful insights into what may trigger anxiety and strategies to alleviate it. Luke is passionate and that comes through clearly in his writing. His positive approach and sense of optimism for a future that can be more autistic-affirming is contagious and my copy of this book is heavily highlighted and underlined, full of quotes I come back to again and again when I’m feeling a little low. It never fails to cheer me up.
To sum up, if I won the lottery, I’d buy up huge bundles of all three of these books and send them out to schools, universities, medical centres, hospitals, local councils and as many places as I could that provide support and services to autistic folk. Because the messages, tips and strategies in all of these are powerful, affirming and need to be more widely understood. For now, I’ll settle with sharing my thoughts about them here and hope that I can inspire at least a few more people to give them a go.