Though our understanding of autism has greatly expanded, many autistic individuals are still missed or misdiagnosed. This highly accessible book clarifies many ways that autism can present, particularly in people who camouflage to hide their autistic traits.

Autism—that’s being able to count matches really fast and knowing that 7 August 1984 was a Tuesday, right? Well, no. In this book, Bianca Toeps explains in great detail what life is like when you’re autistic. She does this by looking at what science says about autism (and why some theories can go straight in the trash), but also by telling her own story and interviewing other autistics.

From childhood, Laura James knew she was different. She struggled to cope in a world that often made no sense to her, as though her brain had its own operating system. It wasn't until she reached her 40s that she found out why: Suddenly and surprisingly, she was diagnosed with autism. With a touching and searing honesty, Laura challenges everything we think we know about what it means to be autistic. Married with four children and a successful journalist, Laura examines the ways in which autism has shaped her career, her approach to motherhood, and her closest relationships.

In this intimate and insightful mix of memoir and manifesto, Annie Kotowicz invites you inside the mind of an autistic woman, sharing the trials and triumphs of a life before and after diagnosis.

Feeling burnt out? You’re not alone. Autistic burnout is a challenge faced by many individuals on the autistic spectrum. And Autistic Burnout Recovery is here to help. This transformative guide is designed to empower individuals on the autism spectrum to manage and overcome burnout. Crafted with empathy and insight, this guide provides practical strategies and exercises to help you navigate the unique challenges associated with burnout.

Barb Cook and 14 other autistic women describe life from a female autistic perspective, and present empowering, helpful and supportive insights from their personal experience for fellow autistic women. Michelle Garnett's comments validate and expand the experiences described from a clinician's perspective, and provide extensive recommendations. Autistic advocates including Liane Holliday Willey, Anita Lesko, Jeanette Purkis, Artemisia and Samantha Craft offer their personal guidance on significant issues that particularly affect women, as well as those that are more general to autism.

Sarah Kurchak is autistic. She hasn’t let that get in the way of pursuing her dream to become a writer, or to find love, but she has let it get in the way of being in the same room with someone chewing food loudly and of cleaning her bathroom sink. In I Overcame My Autism and All I Got Was This Lousy Anxiety Disorder, Kurchak examines the Byzantine steps she took to become “an autistic success story”, how the process almost ruined her life, and how she is now trying to recover.

Comedian Pierre Novellie was on stage when a heckler suggested he was autistic. Usually, this disruption would be water off a duck's back but two things made this heckler different: first, he was himself autistic. Second, he turned out to be absolutely right. This random encounter led to a diagnosis of autism at the age of 31 that unravelled his world, explained his struggles and answered questions that had bothered him for his entire life: why were the other kids obsessed with Britney Spears instead of The Goon Show? Why don't people ever say what they mean? Why is everyone chewing so loudly?

Self-Care for Autistic People can help you engage in some neurodivergent self-care—without pretending to be neurotypical. You’ll find more than 100 activities that help you accept yourself, destigmatize autism, find your community, and take care of your physical and mental health. You’ll find solutions for managing the challenging aspects of autism, as well as ideas to bring out the many positive aspects. With expert advice from therapist Megan A. Neff, this book will help you make the most of your life and your diagnosis.

Most masked Autistics have spent a lifetime being told how to perform neurotypically: how to behave, how to carry themselves, what to feel, and how to live. With his previous book, Unmasking Autism, Devon Price, PhD, has given them the space and the tools to unmask and embrace their neurodiversity. But no matter where you are in the unmasking process, there is still work to be done.

Living with AuDHD is like being a unicorn—misunderstood, contradictory, and often invisible to others. You shine with creativity and innovation, but struggle to fit in — always feeling 'too much'. Autism and ADHD pull you in opposite directions, creating a lifetime of contradictions no one else can see. AuDHD isn’t listed in diagnostic manuals because until 2013, you couldn’t be diagnosed with both conditions — despite a co-occurrence rate of approximately 50-70%. These two neurotypes often clash, like opposing magnets in the brain. ADHD craves novelty; autism resists change.

In this first-of-its-kind book, Sol Smith combines current research, his personal experience as a late-diagnosed autistic adult, and lessons learned as an educator to show how you can transcend common mischaracterizations, overcome shame, and gain the skills to flourish. Sol knows that neurodivergent people often feel that nothing they have been taught relates to how they experience the world. To resolve this conflict, they try to change or mask who they are, which can cause isolation, depression, and anxiety. He advises the opposite: Understand yourself, accept yourself, and reduce conflict.

New edition 2021 with updated research, additional insight, and strategies for communication, information about autism in special populations (such as the gender diverse, those with problematic internet use and gaming addictions, females, and more), and a new section on aging and dementia. Autism is a childhood condition...right? Not right. Children with autism grow into adults with autism. The great strides we have made in understanding childhood autistic behaviors and interventions have lagged dramatically behind the needs of aging autistics.

This intimate memoir reveals the woman inside one of autism’s most prominent figures, Jennifer O'Toole. At the age of 35, Jennifer was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, and for the first time in her life, things made sense. Now, she exposes the constant struggle between carefully crafted persona and authentic existence, editing the autism script with wit, candor, passion, and power. Her journey is one of reverse-self-discovery not only as an Aspie but - more importantly - as a thoroughly modern woman.

This groundbreaking guide isn't just another self-help book—it's a transformative toolkit designed to help you break free from societal expectations and embrace your individuality with confidence. Whether you've been masking for years or are just beginning to explore your authentic self, this book is designed to support you every step of the way.

Marian Schembari was thirty-four years old when she learned she was autistic. By then, she’d spent decades hiding her tics and shutting down in public, wondering why she couldn’t just act like everyone else. Therapists told her she had Tourette’s syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, sensory processing disorder, social anxiety, and recurrent depression. They prescribed breathing techniques and gratitude journaling. Nothing helped. It wasn’t until years later that she finally learned the truth: she wasn’t weird or deficient or moody or sensitive or broken. She was autistic.

Autism—that’s being able to count matches really fast and knowing that 7 August 1984 was a Tuesday, right? Well, no. In this book, Bianca Toeps explains in great detail what life is like when you’re autistic. She does this by looking at what science says about autism (and why some theories can go straight in the trash), but also by telling her own story and interviewing other autistics.

I'll Just Be Five More Minutes is a personal essay collection of laugh-out-loud-funny, tear-jerking, and at times cringey true stories of Emily's experiences as a neurodivergent woman. With the newfound knowledge of her ADHD, Emily candidly reexamines her complicated relationships (including one with a celebrity stalker), her money problems, the years she spent unknowingly self-medicating, and her hyperfixations (two words: decorative baskets). A memoir-in-essays both entertaining and enlightening, I'll Just Be Five More Minutes is for people with ADHD, as well as those who know and love them.

Though our understanding of autism has greatly expanded, many autistic individuals are still missed or misdiagnosed. This highly accessible book clarifies many ways that autism can present, particularly in people who camouflage to hide their autistic traits.

Like many others on the autism spectrum, 20-something stand-up comic Michael McCreary has been told by more than a few well-meaning folks that he doesn’t “look” autistic. But, as he’s quick to point out in this memoir, autism “looks” different for just about everyone with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

It seemed to me that many of the moments when my autism had caused problems, or at least marked me out as different, were those moments when I had come up against some unspoken law about how a girl or a woman should be, and failed to meet it. An autism diagnosis in midlife enabled Joanne Limburg to finally make sense of why her emotional expression, social discomfort and presentation had always marked her as an outsider.

Sarah Kurchak is autistic. She hasn’t let that get in the way of pursuing her dream to become a writer, or to find love, but she has let it get in the way of being in the same room with someone chewing food loudly and of cleaning her bathroom sink. In I Overcame My Autism and All I Got Was This Lousy Anxiety Disorder, Kurchak examines the Byzantine steps she took to become “an autistic success story”, how the process almost ruined her life, and how she is now trying to recover.

The difference that being female makes to the diagnosis, life and experiences of an autistic person is hugely significant. In this second edition, Sarah Hendrickx combines the latest research with personal stories from girls and women on the autism spectrum to present a picture of their feelings, thoughts and experiences at each stage of their lives. Outlining the likely impact will be for autistic women and girls throughout their lifespan, Hendrickx surveys everything from diagnosis, childhood, education, adolescence, friendships and sexuality, to employment, pregnancy, parenting, and aging.

Barb Cook and 14 other autistic women describe life from a female autistic perspective, and present empowering, helpful and supportive insights from their personal experience for fellow autistic women. Michelle Garnett's comments validate and expand the experiences described from a clinician's perspective, and provide extensive recommendations. Autistic advocates including Liane Holliday Willey, Anita Lesko, Jeanette Purkis, Artemisia and Samantha Craft offer their personal guidance on significant issues that particularly affect women, as well as those that are more general to autism.

In this intimate and insightful mix of memoir and manifesto, Annie Kotowicz invites you inside the mind of an autistic woman, sharing the trials and triumphs of a life before and after diagnosis.

Every day, we use our sense of touch to navigate the world. A handshake, a pat on the shoulder, a hug—all essential touches that make up our daily lives. In Touch Matters, Professor Michael Banissy brings together diverse scientific insights from the world's largest study on touch with takeaways on how to enhance your levels of touch for a happier, healthier life. The audiobook explains why touch is essential to our well-being, the role it plays in our relationships, friendships, in the bedroom, workplace, in team activities such as sports, and much more.

As a child, Meryl Frank was the chosen inheritor of family remembrance. Her aunt Mollie, a formidable and cultured woman, insisted that Meryl never forget who they were, where they came from, and the hate that nearly destroyed them. Over long afternoons, Mollie told her about the city, the theater, and, above all else, Meryl’s cousin, the radiant Franya Winter. Franya was the leading light of Vilna’s Yiddish theater, a remarkable and precocious woman who cast off the restrictions of her Hasidic famiy. Yet there was one thing her aunt Mollie would never tell Meryl: how Franya died.

This is a must-have handbook written by an Aspergirl for Aspergirls, young and old. Rudy Simone guides you through every aspect of both personal and professional life, from early recollections of blame, guilt and savant skills to friendships, romance and marriage. Employment, career, rituals and routines are also covered, along with depression, meltdowns and being misunderstood.

Jonathan Mooney blends anecdote, expertise, and memoir to present a new mode of thinking about how we live and learn - individually, uniquely, and with advantages and upshots to every type of brain and body. He explores the toll that being not normal takes on kids and adults when they’re trapped in environments that label them, shame them, and tell them, even in subtle ways, that they are the problem.

My name is Mickey Rowe. I am an actor, a theatre director, a father, and a husband. I am also a man with autism. You think those things don’t go together? Let me show you that they do.