Growing In to Autism

What's it like to realise you're autistic? And how do you start to ask the world around you to accept that?

From the outside looking in, Sandra Thom-Jones was living a successful life- she had a great career, a beautiful home, a caring husband, two loving sons and supportive friends. But from the inside looking out, she was struggling to make sense of her place in the world, constantly feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, and convinced that her challenges with daily life just meant that she had to try harder. In Growing In to Autism , Thom-Jones tells the story of gradually realizing that she was autistic, and that she experienced the world in ways which were markedly different from neurotypical people.

This was a profound awakening - throughout her life she had been masking her true self and this effort had come at great physical, mental and emotional cost. Applying her skills as an experienced and expert researcher, Thom-Jones delved into the literature on autism in adults, learning much more than she already knew as a parent of two autistic boys. Part personal, funny, endearing and enlightening memoir, and part rigorous explication of the nature of autism, Growing in to Autism is a book for all people, memorably conveying the need for better understanding and ways of making space for a group of individuals in our society who have so much to offer.

Perhaps the most important aspect of this book is that it explains and defines aspects of autism and the autistic experience that many of us ‘know’ but don’t understand well enough to articulate and to ask for (or provide) the necessary supports and adjustments to enable autistic people to thrive. It also explains, in ways that are understandable and accessible to readers, some of the differences between the ways that autistic and non-autistic people think, feel and experience the world.

For:

• Educators of autistic people.
• Health and education professionals who seek to better understand the lived experience of autism through the eyes of an autistic adult.
• Educators, including teachers and learning support officers.
• Professional development days.

While there are an increasing number of books by autistic authors reflecting on their personal experiences, this book differs in:

Language currency: Many existing books use language that is clinically outdated and/or increasingly seen as offensive by the autistic community. This does not detract from the value of the contents, but means that many autistic adults will be reluctant to read and/or identify with them. This book uses identity-first language and other terminology that is preferred within the community.

Structure: Most of the existing books are autobiographical in nature and in format – that is the flow of the books predominantly follow the life trajectories of the authors, from childhood to the present day. This book, while autobiographical in nature, is not presented chronologically by rather by topic – enabling the reader to easily locate and read in depth those topics that are of interest at the time of picking up the book.

About The Author: Professor Sandra Jones is the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Engagement) at Australian Catholic University. She provides leadership, advice and support for ACU's community engagement strategy, including strategic frameworks that implement the new measurement of research engagement and impact.

She has undertaken numerous research projects-- in partnership with the autistic community on the experiences of autistic people and the knowledge and attitudes towards autism in the community; including research that won the Autism CRC's 2019 award for research translation. Her research includes a 12-month reflection study on the experiences of more than thirty autistic academics from around the world. In 2018 she established ACU's Autism Inclusion Program, which aims to improve the attraction, retention and positive outcomes of autistic people in higher education. She is a passionate advocate for the inclusion of autistic people in all aspects of society.

"My aim in writing the book is to increase awareness of the challenges – but also the strengths – of autistic people; to address some of the misperceptions and misunderstandings; and to provide a resource for advocacy and understanding.

I wrote the book to let others who are experiencing the challenges I experienced know that they are not alone. For my life I thought I was defective and needed to work harder compensate for my perceived defects.

Suddenly, I was made aware that not only am I not defective but that I belong to a large community of people who experience the world the way that I do. Equally importantly, I became aware that we have people around us who (despite not wholly understanding us) love and support us for being who we are.

This book is my effort to explain how we can remove some of the barriers between autistic people and the wide world, and how we can better understand ourselves and each other. Most importantly, I hope that being candid and open about my life experiences will speak to adults who are struggling with their (or their child’s) self-identification, diagnosis, and sense of belonging."

ISBN:

9780522878882

Category:

Memoirs

Format:

Paperback

Publication Date:

30-08-2022

Publisher:

Melbourne University Press

Country of origin:

Australia

Pages:

232