If you like reading about autism, here are my top 6 books that could fill your lockdown days!
Some of them are good resources that may help you set up an intervention and others are just a good read that will expand your knowledge and thinking about autism.
- Neurotribes by Steve Silbermann – this is an amazing book, don’t be put off by how many pages there are. It’s a surprisingly easy read taking on a journey through the history of autism and into what present and future can hold. I personally found the history of the work by Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger very interesting. As well as the struggle to get the film Rainman made. Steve himself has a big personality and is a vocal activist; you can feel the passion for the topic in this book. Highly recommended read!
- The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion – a highly amusing and yet empathetic novel about an autistic man researching the perfect partner for himself. He has a range of criteria the women need to reach in order to be good partner material – of course, it does not quite work out how he intended it to! A really good read! And also available, The Rosie Effect and The Rosie Result.
- Martian in the Playground by Clare Sainsbury – a personal account of autism by Clare herself, illuminating the struggles she had at school and the pressures encountered from a world that wanted her to ‘fit in’. This is a really good insight into behaviour responses made by an autistic person and makes the reader question what they think they know.
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon – a murder mystery, with the narrator and detective being Christopher Boone who is 15 years old and autistic. He is great at maths, understands little about human beings. His whole world gets turned upside down when he sets out to discover who has murdered his neighbour’s dog, even though he had never been further than the end of his own road.
- The Zones of Regulation by Leah M. Kuypers – this is an amazing resource which helps to support emotional regulation for autistic people, as well as those with ADHD and social, emotional and mental health challenges. It supports knowing which zone of alertness the body is in or moving in to and offers a range of strategies to support self regulation. Highly visual and inclusive and often a game changer for many people in understanding and coping with their emotions.
- Sensory and Motor Strategies by Corinna Laurie – this National Autistic Society publication has been like a bible for me. It is so informative and tells you everything you need to know about sensory processing (which is one of the key areas of autistic difference). It explains 7 major sensory areas, how to recognise if there is hyper or hypo sensitivity in that area and gives a vast range of strategies to meet the need. Best £10 I’ve ever spent!
There are many books, many authors, many schemes out there – the list is literally endless!
Other authors and important figures to look out for:
Sarah Hendrickx
Robyn Steward
Temple Grandin
Michelle Garcia Winner
Alis Rowe
Tony Attwood
Joy Beaney
My recommendations may get you started!