Miriam Zisook, LICSW ([email protected])

<aside> 👋 This is for you if you care about or work with folks who’re autistic/have autism, and don’t feel like you have a handle on the Neurodiversity frame and what it is (and what it isn’t).

*here’s why I wrote autistic, not people with autism

• Table of Contents </aside>

Start Here

• Read this article by Nick Walker for a great and useful definition of autism
• Read Knowing Why, an anthology of essays by folks who discovered their autism later in life
• Read Divergent Mind By Jenara Nuremberg (this one explores several categories of neurodivergence including Autism, high sensitivity, ADHD, and sensory processing disorder in women in particular)
• Read Unmasking Autism by Devon Price. The book explores “Masked Autism,” the presentation of autism that most often leads to adult diagnosis.
• Check out ASAN’s Welcome to the Autistic Community and the Autistic Women and Nonbinary Networks Welcome Packet
• The double empathy problem is one very important aspect of understanding relationships between Autistic and non-Autistic people. This is a good introduction to it: "Reframing Autism" on the double empathy problem.
• What do we mean by Neurodiversity?
• If you're feeling tripped up about how to untangle/differentiate ADHD, autism, sensory processing disorder, highly sensitive person, etc. I really recommend the last few paragraphs of this interview with Nick Walker.
  • (the article is behind a paywall, so I've included the relevant excerpt here in the toggle)

Social Media and online folks to follow

Follow these folks on social media

• The Trauma Geek
• The Queer Counseling Intern
• Ed Wiley Autism Acceptance Library
• ASAN (Autistic self advocacy network)
• Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism. This is a good first stop for parents.
• Autistic Hoya
• Neuroclastic
• Nick Walker's Neuroqueer

A couple of my all time favorite Autism and disability Justice books

• Loud Hands. An anthology of writing by Autistic people on autism and justice. I think it should be required reading for every professional who works with Autistic people, but it is not a gentle starting point for parents.
• The Real Experts. This is an amazing starting point for parents, and professionals. It contains the themes of Loud Hands but it’s targeting parents and is much gentler and kinder. *Note this book is not available anymore but I have a copy to lend
• Neurotribes. An incredible, thorough and pretty world-rocking history of autism. Steve Silberman was one of the first journalists on the autism beat in the ‘90s and he’s been working on this book since. If you remember “The Geek Syndrome” from Wired circa 2001 this is that journalist
• Brilliant Imperfection by Eli Clare. A beautiful exploration of ideas about curing disability and the value of disabled people, and challenging the problematizing and medicalizing of disabled people (about disability more broadly, not autism specifically).
• All the Weight of Our Dreams, on Living Racialized Autism An anthology of writing on intersections of race and autism.

Other People’s Reading Lists and Guides