Different, Not Less

This is a very informative and frank guide to neurodiversity, written by Australian actress Chloe Hayden.

She draws on her own experiences of growing up autistic, how she felt different  from her peers and struggled with the school system, but wasnt diagnosed until she was 13.

She focuses particularly on  neurodiversity in girls and women, as they are often misdiagnosed with other conditions (eg PTSD or depression) or missed, due to the nuances in the way their symptoms present compared to boys (historically, most studies have been done on boys as autism was originally thought to only affect males)

As well as describing different aspects of neurodiversity (and how it affects people differently), Chloe provides some useful coping strategies for both neurodiverse individuals themselves and family and friends close to them, when they experience meltdowns (or to avoid them).  She also points out that neurodiversity shouldn't be considered a negative, just differences in the way brains process things.

The book explores the labels used for autistic  people, why the term Aspergers is inappropriate (in short - he was an Austrian Nazi who experimented upon and murdered children with Autism and his "research" is not even used today) and why we shouldn't  box people awsy as "high" or "low" functioning as this can fluctuate at different times, due to different experiences/situations

This is an invaluable resource for people who have recently been diagnosed as autisitic, for parents of autistic children and those simply wanting to find out more about neurodiversity.

A perfect book for young women and girls wanting to learn more about autism and how to navigate the neurotypical world. Of course, none of the resources mentioned exist for us in the US but seeing one’s self in the author’s lived experience makes the book a worthwhile read.