Further Resources
Though I attempt to cover as much as I can in the website, naturally I can't manage to cover everything, especially with the huge diversity of experiences of people on the spectrum. These additional resources, including blogs (a way that many people on the spectrum seem to choose to express themselves), websites, and books will allow you to learn even more information about autism. No matter how many resources you read (including my own), it's important to always remain open to new perspectives when it comes to autism - these resources should provide a sampling of those perspectives and more.
Books:
1. The Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships: Decoding Social Mysteries Through the Unique Perspectives of Autism
- This book blew me out of the water. And that's not easy to do. I highly recommend reading it, for many reasons. Here are the reasons it's so highly recommended:
A ) It shows the diversity of the spectrum. There are actually two authors who teemed up to write this, Temple Grandin and Sean Barron (the son of the author of Look Me in The Eyes), both of whom have autism, but very different experiences with it. Sean Barron's experiences are so different from Temple's...they actually line up better with most autistic people I've actually met, especially my sister. Reading his words, I felt like I was understanding what my sister was going through for the very first time. And I'd read at least a bookshelf's worth of autism related books at that point, so that's saying something.
B ) It's the best book about autism I've ever read. As I read it, I saw flashes of all the different people I know on the spectrum, from my sister, to my classmate, to my friend's brother. Things I hadn't understood before, or even thought of as being autistic, just clicked into place when I read it. I think the title is a bit of a throw off - it's not only useful for learning/teaching rules of social relationships, but for understanding the autistic perspective as a whole. We make autistic people adapt to our world - it's about time that we appreciated all the work that goes into it behind the scenes. It's about time that we better understand their world. And this book is the gateway to doing exactly that. Read it. *drops mic*
2. Other books
Personally all other books pale in consideration, but if you're still interested, I recommend Aspergirls. It helped me realize that my sister needed way more accommodations than we were giving her, and has a lot of stories from lots of women on the spectrum, a perspective that often goes overlooked. A book I haven't read fully (I don't have much money, so I only read the first free chapter on Amazon), but if their website and that one chapter are anything to judge by is awesome is Thinking Person's Guide to Autism.
My thoughts on biographies. Reading a book that describes one person's experience with autism, we go back to that whole 'if you know one person with autism, you know one person with autism' problem. They're great reads and certainly tend to be popular, but...it's still only one person. That's why the books I recommend tend to be multiple people.
A not autism-related but still good book I recommend is:
No Pity: People with Disabilities Forging a New Civil Rights Movement
Okay, so the copy of it I read is really old and many facts were out of date. (I know because wow, the view of autism it has is backward.) But WOW what an introduction to a new paradigm of seeing people with disabilities, a paradigm those who care about people with autism, of all people, really need. And it's inexpensive if you're willing to buy the 1994 edition (I think I got it on Thrift Books for $3).
FREE RESOURCES
Because most of us don't have much money (as someone who's purchased a whole autism library, let me tell you that can be draining on your bank account), and these resources can be equally beneficial.
TV Shows/Movies:
Loving Lampposts - http://www.hulu.com/watch/235717
This documentary is free to watch on Hulu and it gives a great introduction to the autism community and perspectives from pro-cure, pro-neurodiversity groups and where they diverge. Highly recommend.
- Summary: "As autism has exploded into the public consciousness over the last 20 years, two opposing questions have been asked about the condition: is it a devastating sickness to be cured? Or is it a variation of the human brain, just a different way to be human?"
Web Resources:
WrongPlanet - http://www.wrongplanet.net/
A discussion forum for people with autism themselves. They are very welcoming for people who aren't on the spectrum (case in point: me), so if you want to go and ask questions they will totally answer. Even if you don't want to join (it's free) or participate, thought, it's also another paradigm-shifting resource. Just go on and read what people on the spectrum themselves think is important and what they have to say. It also totally busts myths about autism, because there are plenty of people on there talking about relationships, people with great senses of humor, "non-verbal" people who participate and show they are quite intelligent, thank you very much, and just a whole different perspective about autism. The vast majority of autistic adults are quite capable of expressing themselves on a forum like this. Here, they can speak for themselves instead of being spoken for.
The WrongPlanet YouTube Channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/theWrongPlanet/videos
For all the same reasons WrongPlanet is awesome, their YouTube channel is, too. Lots of interviews and lots of autistic people expressing themselves.
Want to Know More About Autism? Ask an Autistic - http://outrunningthe...ho-is-autistic/
This is a directory, of sorts, to blogs and articles by autistic people explaining the answers to all sorts of different questions about autism, from what having sensory sensitivities feels like, to how they feel when their parents are told to mourn for them, to making eye contact. Basically more than you could ever hope to gain from buying one autistic person's biography, but way cheaper.
Blogs
ballastexistenz - ballastexistenz.wordpress.com/
The blog of Amanda Baggs, a woman with autism who you may remember from her YouTube video, In My Language, where she writes about her life.
Estée Klar: The Joy of Autism - www.esteeklar.com/
Here, a mother of a child with autism writes of her experiences with autism "because every human has value and is a joy."
Odd One Out: Reality with a Refreshing Slice of Aspie - lastcrazyhorn.wordpress.com/
The author of this blog writes about life as an Aspie (person with Asperger's).
Autistic and Awesome -http://autisticandawesome.wordpress.com/
This blog is about living life here on Earth being both autistic and awesome.
Facebook Pages
There are a lot of great resources available on Facebook. What I particularly like is that if you have a Facebook account already, it's a great way to learn more about autism that integrates seamlessly into your life and can provide you with up to date information.
The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism - https://www.facebook...utism?ref=br_tf
Just 'like' their Facebook page and you'll get the links they post showing up in your newsfeed with high quality articles about autism, from the perspective of autistic people themselves and their parents. It'll also update you with current events in the autism world. An easy way to learn more about autism.
Diary of a Mom
- https://www.facebook.com/pages/Diary-of-a-Mom/310066991936
One mother's thoughts on her journey with her autistic daughter. ASE is a follower, and let me tell you, her posts are incredible and highly recommended.
Autism Spectrum Explained
- https://www.facebook.com/autismspectrumexplained
That's right, we have our own Facebook page! There Caley and I (but mostly I, again, Caley has trouble writing) post articles, blog posts, answer questions, and more! Follow us!
1. The Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships: Decoding Social Mysteries Through the Unique Perspectives of Autism
- This book blew me out of the water. And that's not easy to do. I highly recommend reading it, for many reasons. Here are the reasons it's so highly recommended:
A ) It shows the diversity of the spectrum. There are actually two authors who teemed up to write this, Temple Grandin and Sean Barron (the son of the author of Look Me in The Eyes), both of whom have autism, but very different experiences with it. Sean Barron's experiences are so different from Temple's...they actually line up better with most autistic people I've actually met, especially my sister. Reading his words, I felt like I was understanding what my sister was going through for the very first time. And I'd read at least a bookshelf's worth of autism related books at that point, so that's saying something.
B ) It's the best book about autism I've ever read. As I read it, I saw flashes of all the different people I know on the spectrum, from my sister, to my classmate, to my friend's brother. Things I hadn't understood before, or even thought of as being autistic, just clicked into place when I read it. I think the title is a bit of a throw off - it's not only useful for learning/teaching rules of social relationships, but for understanding the autistic perspective as a whole. We make autistic people adapt to our world - it's about time that we appreciated all the work that goes into it behind the scenes. It's about time that we better understand their world. And this book is the gateway to doing exactly that. Read it. *drops mic*
2. Other books
Personally all other books pale in consideration, but if you're still interested, I recommend Aspergirls. It helped me realize that my sister needed way more accommodations than we were giving her, and has a lot of stories from lots of women on the spectrum, a perspective that often goes overlooked. A book I haven't read fully (I don't have much money, so I only read the first free chapter on Amazon), but if their website and that one chapter are anything to judge by is awesome is Thinking Person's Guide to Autism.
My thoughts on biographies. Reading a book that describes one person's experience with autism, we go back to that whole 'if you know one person with autism, you know one person with autism' problem. They're great reads and certainly tend to be popular, but...it's still only one person. That's why the books I recommend tend to be multiple people.
A not autism-related but still good book I recommend is:
No Pity: People with Disabilities Forging a New Civil Rights Movement
Okay, so the copy of it I read is really old and many facts were out of date. (I know because wow, the view of autism it has is backward.) But WOW what an introduction to a new paradigm of seeing people with disabilities, a paradigm those who care about people with autism, of all people, really need. And it's inexpensive if you're willing to buy the 1994 edition (I think I got it on Thrift Books for $3).
FREE RESOURCES
Because most of us don't have much money (as someone who's purchased a whole autism library, let me tell you that can be draining on your bank account), and these resources can be equally beneficial.
TV Shows/Movies:
Loving Lampposts - http://www.hulu.com/watch/235717
This documentary is free to watch on Hulu and it gives a great introduction to the autism community and perspectives from pro-cure, pro-neurodiversity groups and where they diverge. Highly recommend.
- Summary: "As autism has exploded into the public consciousness over the last 20 years, two opposing questions have been asked about the condition: is it a devastating sickness to be cured? Or is it a variation of the human brain, just a different way to be human?"
Web Resources:
WrongPlanet - http://www.wrongplanet.net/
A discussion forum for people with autism themselves. They are very welcoming for people who aren't on the spectrum (case in point: me), so if you want to go and ask questions they will totally answer. Even if you don't want to join (it's free) or participate, thought, it's also another paradigm-shifting resource. Just go on and read what people on the spectrum themselves think is important and what they have to say. It also totally busts myths about autism, because there are plenty of people on there talking about relationships, people with great senses of humor, "non-verbal" people who participate and show they are quite intelligent, thank you very much, and just a whole different perspective about autism. The vast majority of autistic adults are quite capable of expressing themselves on a forum like this. Here, they can speak for themselves instead of being spoken for.
The WrongPlanet YouTube Channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/theWrongPlanet/videos
For all the same reasons WrongPlanet is awesome, their YouTube channel is, too. Lots of interviews and lots of autistic people expressing themselves.
Want to Know More About Autism? Ask an Autistic - http://outrunningthe...ho-is-autistic/
This is a directory, of sorts, to blogs and articles by autistic people explaining the answers to all sorts of different questions about autism, from what having sensory sensitivities feels like, to how they feel when their parents are told to mourn for them, to making eye contact. Basically more than you could ever hope to gain from buying one autistic person's biography, but way cheaper.
Blogs
ballastexistenz - ballastexistenz.wordpress.com/
The blog of Amanda Baggs, a woman with autism who you may remember from her YouTube video, In My Language, where she writes about her life.
Estée Klar: The Joy of Autism - www.esteeklar.com/
Here, a mother of a child with autism writes of her experiences with autism "because every human has value and is a joy."
Odd One Out: Reality with a Refreshing Slice of Aspie - lastcrazyhorn.wordpress.com/
The author of this blog writes about life as an Aspie (person with Asperger's).
Autistic and Awesome -http://autisticandawesome.wordpress.com/
This blog is about living life here on Earth being both autistic and awesome.
Facebook Pages
There are a lot of great resources available on Facebook. What I particularly like is that if you have a Facebook account already, it's a great way to learn more about autism that integrates seamlessly into your life and can provide you with up to date information.
The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism - https://www.facebook...utism?ref=br_tf
Just 'like' their Facebook page and you'll get the links they post showing up in your newsfeed with high quality articles about autism, from the perspective of autistic people themselves and their parents. It'll also update you with current events in the autism world. An easy way to learn more about autism.
Diary of a Mom
- https://www.facebook.com/pages/Diary-of-a-Mom/310066991936
One mother's thoughts on her journey with her autistic daughter. ASE is a follower, and let me tell you, her posts are incredible and highly recommended.
Autism Spectrum Explained
- https://www.facebook.com/autismspectrumexplained
That's right, we have our own Facebook page! There Caley and I (but mostly I, again, Caley has trouble writing) post articles, blog posts, answer questions, and more! Follow us!
Print Outs
Working together with some autistic adults, I put together some easy to hand out cards to show people when a person on the spectrum is having a rough time. The idea is to turn an awkward moment of staring into an eye-opening moment of education for the bystander. I uploaded the cards below, but here's a preview of what the text reads.
"This child is autistic. Autistic people may behave in ways different from neurotypical people (people like you and me) because they have difficulty understanding social situations, restrictive interests, and may struggle with verbal language. Being autistic is like being left handed, but on the neurological level. Some things an autistic person can do readily or better than normal, some require a different tool to achieve the same result, and some will make them metaphorically smear ink on the paper. If I handed you this card, this is likely one of the latter moments. Please help by showing tolerance. To learn about autism, visit autismspectrumexplained.com."
Naturally, you're welcome to use these and to change any aspect you want. This can easily be adapted to fit adults, change the metaphor, or anything you want. You could also change the website you recommend - autistikids.com is another great website you could suggest, or whichever non-ableist autism education website you want to fill in there. If you want to get really creative with these cards, you could double-sided print them with a list of autism-related resources on the back. (I printed out some of those from Vista Print for that exact purpose.)
The idea is to reclaim a negative moment and turn it into a positive moment that helps make a more understanding world for autistic people. Best of luck with the cards!
"This child is autistic. Autistic people may behave in ways different from neurotypical people (people like you and me) because they have difficulty understanding social situations, restrictive interests, and may struggle with verbal language. Being autistic is like being left handed, but on the neurological level. Some things an autistic person can do readily or better than normal, some require a different tool to achieve the same result, and some will make them metaphorically smear ink on the paper. If I handed you this card, this is likely one of the latter moments. Please help by showing tolerance. To learn about autism, visit autismspectrumexplained.com."
Naturally, you're welcome to use these and to change any aspect you want. This can easily be adapted to fit adults, change the metaphor, or anything you want. You could also change the website you recommend - autistikids.com is another great website you could suggest, or whichever non-ableist autism education website you want to fill in there. If you want to get really creative with these cards, you could double-sided print them with a list of autism-related resources on the back. (I printed out some of those from Vista Print for that exact purpose.)
The idea is to reclaim a negative moment and turn it into a positive moment that helps make a more understanding world for autistic people. Best of luck with the cards!

autism_explanation_card.docx | |
File Size: | 14 kb |
File Type: | docx |
That's All, Folks!
This is the last content related page on the website (unless you were referred directly to this page, in which case you can start at the beginning here). It's been an amazing, insightful journey for me making this website, and I hope it was as good of an experience for you to read as it was to create. Thanks for visiting! Don't forget to take the survey before you leave!