Getting the message out 'Autism in our own words'

First of all I will state this is not a survey just to reassure moderators.

Inspired by the Chris Packham Programme, and by some answered to that thread about non celebrity autistic people plus some things in another thread about life histories, I think this could be very useful for both neurotypical and autistic people.

What I am thinking of is if a book could be published with each chapter being someone's life story. It would incorporate earliest memories, our background, experiences at school, academic achievements and failures,  misunderstandings, the realisation that neurotypical were a bit strange, experiences in the workplace or of being out of work, the skills possessed and our interests, how others try to change us, the disrespect we often get - I'm sure you get the idea.

Am I the only one who would find this very interesting?  I have no idea how this could be brought to the attention of a publisher, or what forums would be available to tell our extended stories.  Even an online publication could prove interesting.

We all have a different story to tell, linked by our common condition so there would be differences but also some similarities.  Psychologists who diagnose probably are aware of all this but as a means of comparing notes and informing others this could be as valuable as any number of academic papers

Parents
  • Hi, I'm new here, I only just found you today. I only recently got diagnosed with asperger's syndrome, but I prefer to refer to it as autism and I would love to get our stories out there. It's so frustrating to me that even my family don't want to know about me. My sister said it's just a label, don't identify with it, other friends have said the same. I have devoured as much information as I can about autism, so I can learn more, so having a book with different people's experiences would have been so good for me.

Reply
  • Hi, I'm new here, I only just found you today. I only recently got diagnosed with asperger's syndrome, but I prefer to refer to it as autism and I would love to get our stories out there. It's so frustrating to me that even my family don't want to know about me. My sister said it's just a label, don't identify with it, other friends have said the same. I have devoured as much information as I can about autism, so I can learn more, so having a book with different people's experiences would have been so good for me.

Children
  • I think it’s a great idea, as a parent of a youngster i am desperate to know more from people that have been through early life, to know what is / was hard, what helped them, what they loved, found hard and why.

    Worried parents read a lot (well I do) I want to understand and help my son through life, we are the ones that can learn through your experiences.

    The more we know the more we can help the little ones just starting out.