Book List
Girls
Girls Growing Up on the Autism Spectrum. Nichols, S.Moravcik, G.M. & Pulver T.S.
This book covers all the concerns commonly faced by girls with ASDs and their parents, from periods and puberty to worries over friendships and "fitting in".
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'Girls and Autism: educational, family and personal perspectives (Routledge publishers
Often thought of as a predominantly ‘male’ disorder, autism has long gone unidentified, unnoticed and unsupported in girls – sometimes with devastating consequences for their social and mental well-being. As current research reveals a much more balanced male-to-female ratio in autism, this book provides crucial insight into autistic girls’ experiences, helping professionals to recognize, understand, support and teach them effectively.
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Asperger's and Girls. Arlington, Texas: Future Horizons Attwood, T. & Grandin, T. (2006).
This book describes the unique challenges of women and girls with Asperger’s Syndrome. In it you’ll read candid stories written by the indomitable women who have lived them. You’ll also hear from experts who discuss whether “Aspie girls” are slipping under the radar, undiagnosed; why many AS women feel like a minority within a minority (outnumbered by men 4:1)
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Life on the Autism Spectrum - A Guide for Girls and Women by Karen McKibbin
Why is Autism Spectrum Disorder so misunderstood in girls and women and why do so many go under the radar without the support that they need? This practical guide explains the unique issues that affect females with autism and provides tools and strategies that girls, women and their families can use in day-to-day life.
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Nobody Nowhere: The Remarkable Autobiography of an Autistic Girl by Donna Williams
Donna Williams was a child with more labels than a jam-jar: deaf, wild disturbed, stupid insane... She lived within herself, her own world her foreground, ours a background she only visited. Isolated from herself and from the outside world, Donna was, in her words, a Nobody Nowhere
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Parenting Girls on the Autism Spectrum - Overcoming the Challenges and Celebrating the Gifts. Riley-Hall, E.
Parents of girls on the autism spectrum often wish their daughters were celebrated for their talents, rather than discouraged for their differences.
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The Girl with the Curly Hair – Asperger’s and Me by Alis Rowe
My family have known me my entire life.
They have been by my side at the doctor’s.
They have brought me out of shutdowns.
They have supported me through depression.
Yet, despite being a part of all of these things,
they still don’t really know what it’s like being me,
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The Girl with the Curly Hair Meets the Boy with the Spiky Hair: ASD in females vs males by Alis Rowe
Most scientific research to date has been carried out on males and some people think this means the diagnostic criteria for ASD is not suitable for diagnosing females. I am often asked what the differences are between males and females
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Self Recognition
Am I Autistic? A Guide to Autism & Asperger’s Self-Diagnosis for Adults: Includes the Personal Journey of a Self-Diagnosed Autistic by Lydia Andal
New guide for those who think they or their partner/friend/relative or work colleague might be autistic and would like to find out more.
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I Think I Might Be Autistic: A Guide to Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis and Self-Discovery for Adults by Cynthia Kim
What if instead of being weird, shy, geeky or introverted, your brain is wired differently? For adults with undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder (ASD), there is often an "aha!" moment--when you realize that ASD just might be the explanation for why you've always felt so different.
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Autistic Women
Coming Out Asperger: Diagnosis, Disclosure and Self-Confidence by Dinah Murray
Coming Out Asperger explores the complexity of diagnosis for Asperger Syndrome, the drawbacks and benefits of disclosing a diagnosis of a "hidden disability" and how this impinges on self-esteem
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Finding a Different Kind of Normal: Misadventures with Asperger Syndrome by Jeanette Purkis
Jeanette Purkis spent her early life reacting violently against her feelings of embarrassment, anger and confusion about her 'difference' from other people. She was unaware until well into adulthood that everything she found difficult, including her lack of success in forming relationships, could be a result of having Asperger Syndrome.
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Being This Human: One Young Woman's Experience Living With Asperger's Syndrome by Jessica LaMarca
Being This Human, which I wrote following seventeen years of struggle, accomplishment and self-discovery, is my manual, memoir and testament to this beautifully perplexing Syndrome.
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Blazing My Trail: Living and Thriving with Autism by Rachel B. Cohen-Rottenberg
In this latest work, the author chronicles her process of creatively adapting to life with a disability, advocating for full inclusion, and reclaiming her independence, her power, and her engagement with the world.
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Aspergirls: Empowering Females with Asperger Syndrome by Rudy Simone
This is a must-have handbook written by an Aspergirl for Aspergirls, young and old. Rudy Simone guides you through every aspect of both personal and professional life, from early recollections of blame, guilt, and savant skills, to friendships, romance and marriage. Employment, career, rituals and routines are also covered, along with depression, meltdowns and being misunderstood. Including the reflections of over thirty-five women diagnosed as on the spectrum, as well as some partners and parents
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Life Behind Glass. Lawson, W.
a mother of four with two university degrees; she is a social worker and adult educator, and operates her own business. She is also a poet and writer, sharing her understanding of autism with others to help "build a bridge ...from my world to theirs". This book is part of that bridge.
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Nerdy, Shy, and Socially Inappropriate: A User Guide to an Asperger Life by Cynthia Kim
Cynthia Kim explores all the quirkiness of living with Asperger Syndrome (ASD) in this accessible, witty and honest guide looking from an insider perspective at some of the most challenging and intractable aspects of being autistic
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Somebody Somewhere. Williams, D.
The sequel to the powerful international bestseller Nobody Nowhere, Somebody Somewhere takes us deeper into Donna Williams' Journey into the world. Her war against it is finally over, but the pieces of her life lie scattered around her.
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Odd Girl Out: An autistic woman in a neurotypical world by Laura James
Laura James found out that she was autistic as an adult, after she had forged a career for herself, married twice and raised four children. Odd Girl Out tracks the year of Laura's life after she receives a definitive diagnosis from her doctor, as she learns that 'different' doesn't need to mean 'less' and how there is a place for all of us, and it's never too late to find it.
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Pretending to be Normal by Liane Holliday Willey`
Pretending to be Normal tells the story of a woman who, after years of self-doubt and self-denial, learned to embrace her Asperger's syndrome traits with thanksgiving and joy. Chronicling her life from her earliest memories through her life as a university lecturer, writer, wife and mother, Liane Holliday Willey shares, with insight and warmth, the daily struggles and challenges that face many of those who have Asperger's Syndrome.
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Spectrum Women: Walking to the Beat of Autism,
A new edited collection of writing from Barb Cook, along with 14 other autistic women, offering advice, support and empowerment to fellow autistic women. Chapters cover growing up, identity, diversity, parenting, independence, self-care and more, and show the diversity and range of experience within the autism spectrum.
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Your Autism Journey: A self-exploration workbook for young women on the autism spectrum by Victoria Honeybourne
As a young woman on the autism spectrum, you perhaps have many questions: What does autism mean? How will it affect you? How can you not just survive but thrive in a world not designed for you? Can you be happy and autistic? Working through this book you will learn more about your autism, identify what is important to you and reflect on practical strategies which can help in a range of situations.
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Women and Girls with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Understanding Life Experiences from Early Childhood to Old Age by Sarah Hendrickx
The difference that being female makes to the diagnosis, life and experiences of a person with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has largely gone unresearched and unreported until recently. In this book, Sarah Hendrickx has collected both academic research and personal stories about girls and women on the autism spectrum to present a picture of their feelings, thoughts and experiences at each stage of their lives.
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How To Be Autistic - Charlotte Amelia Poe
As we follow Charlotte's journey through school and college, we become as awestruck by their extraordinary passion for life as by the enormous privations that they must undergo to live it. From food and fandom to body modification and comic conventions, Charlotte's experiences through the torments of schooldays and young adulthood leave us with a riot of conflicting emotions: horror, empathy, despair, laugh-out-loud amusement and, most of all, respect.
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Women on the Spectrum: A Handbook for Life: Goodall, Emma, Purkis, Yenn:
This book is a unique handbook on life for autistic women, written by autistic women. Its primary purpose is to enable girls and women on the autism spectrum to learn from the authors' and others' mistakes most effectively!
This book is structured in a helpful question-and-answer format that covers a large variety of topics asked by autistic women on all walks of life.
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The Independent Woman's Handbook for Super Safe Living on the Autistic Spectrum by Robyn Steward
Robyn has written a brilliant, no-nonsense, straight-talking guide on how to navigate the daunting world of people and relationships - not just the obvious stuff, but the subtle things that women on the autistic spectrum are likely to stumble into trouble with
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Autism in Heels: The Untold Story of a Female Life on the Spectrum by Jennifer O'Toole,
Beyond being a memoir, Autism in Heels is a love letter to all women. It’s a conversation starter. A game-changer. and a firsthand account of what it is to walk in Jennifer's shoes (especially those iconic red stilettos).
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Drama Queen: One Autistic Woman and a Life of Unhelpful Labels
by Sara Gibbs
Drama Queen is both a tour inside one autistic brain and a declaration that a diagnosis on the spectrum, with the right support, accommodations and understanding, doesn't have to be a barrier to a life full of love, laughter and success. It is the story of one woman trying to fit into a world that has often tried to reject her and, most importantly, it's about a life of labels and the joy of ripping them off one by one.
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Camouflage: The Hidden Lives of Autistic Women by Dr Sarah Bargiela (Author)
Autism in women and girls is still not widely understood and is often misrepresented or even overlooked. This graphic novel offers an engaging and accessible insight into the lives and minds of autistic women, using real-life case studies.
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Autistic Motherhood
From Here to Maternity by Lana Grant
Already the mother of five children, Lana Grant's late diagnosis of autism at age 38 transformed her experience of her sixth pregnancy. Based on her own experiences of the challenges and joys of pregnancy and motherhood, this witty, entertaining read provides insight into the unique challenges encountered by mothers on the spectrum and provides tips and strategies for understanding and overcoming them.
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Spectrum Women—Autism and Parenting by Renata Jurkevythz
This book looks at what it feels like to be an autistic parent, offering valuable insights, knowledge and wisdom on parenting autistic and non-autistic children. Three mothers reflect on their experiences of growing up as undiagnosed autistics, venturing into and embracing motherhood, and connecting with their children in a unique and powerful way.
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Autistic and Expecting: Practical Support for Parents-To-Be and Health and Social Care Practitioners Paperback by Alexis Quinn
Autistic and Expecting is the first book of its kind to be written specifically for autistic parents. The author is an autistic mother who experienced a mental health crisis after a poorly supported pregnancy and childbirth. She voices the experiences of many autistic parents and addresses the issues that they face collectively and individually.
The book provides a practical, insightful and solution-focused guide to empower autistic parents from pre-conception through to the first few months with their baby. It is sensitively illustrated and provides the information, resources and confidence autistic parents need to advocate for themselves, as well as to develop positive relationships with the professionals involved in their care.
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