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A review by smitchy
Late Bloomer: How an Autism Diagnosis Changed My Life by Clem Bastow
5.0
Clem Bastow opens her life to us as she deals with the knowledge of a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as an adult. Bastow, like a lot of women, was not picked up as Autistic as a child due to the fact Autism presents differently in women and girls than it does in men and boys. After a lifetime of feeling like she didn't quite fit in she sought out diagnosis in her 30s and in this book she looks back at her life and wonders what would have been different if she knew then what she knows now.
In the process she gives the reader an insight into what ASD is like from the inside. Sensory overwhelm, social confusion, work burnout from hyperfocus, gender roles, the risk of abuse due to not being able to read social cues, and how meltdowns feels from the inside are among the many topics Bastow covers in this articulate biography. She also includes short interviews with other people on the ASD spectrum at the end of the book for a wider degree of insight into the problems they face and the feelings they have to the disorder, the label, and the way they are seen and treated by the neuro-typical world.
I found this biography super interesting and it gave me a different perspective on ASD. I highly recommend it to anyone who has someone with ASD in their life and especially to anyone who deals with many people: like teachers, customer service, or managers.
In the process she gives the reader an insight into what ASD is like from the inside. Sensory overwhelm, social confusion, work burnout from hyperfocus, gender roles, the risk of abuse due to not being able to read social cues, and how meltdowns feels from the inside are among the many topics Bastow covers in this articulate biography. She also includes short interviews with other people on the ASD spectrum at the end of the book for a wider degree of insight into the problems they face and the feelings they have to the disorder, the label, and the way they are seen and treated by the neuro-typical world.
I found this biography super interesting and it gave me a different perspective on ASD. I highly recommend it to anyone who has someone with ASD in their life and especially to anyone who deals with many people: like teachers, customer service, or managers.