Autism Memoir

Follow a mother's journey through the twists and turns of autism spectrum disorder. Planet A is a book that gives the reader a glimpse into the behaviors of a child, Jackie Christiansen, on the autism spectrum. It is real and raw dealing with issues of explosive anger, social ineptness and low maturity, all of which can cause complete confusion and low self-esteem. Parenting can be extremely exhausting and getting the outside world to understand can be challenging. Through IEPs (Individual Education Plans) within the school systems to navigating the causes of behaviors the book is laced ...

When Judith Newman shared the story of how Apple's electronic personal assistant, Siri, helped Gus, her son who has autism, she received widespread media attention and an outpouring of affection from listeners around the world. Basking in the afterglow of media attention, Gus told anyone who would listen, "I'm a movie star". Judith's story of her son and his bond with Siri was an unusual tribute to technology. While many worry that our electronic gadgets are dumbing us down, she revealed how they can give voice to others.

Following his groundbreaking international best seller The Reason I Jump, written when he was only 13, Naoki Higashida offers equally illuminating and practical insights into autism from his current perspective as a young man.

Diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder, a form of autism, as a toddler, Anthony Ianni wasn't expected to succeed in school or participate in sports, but he had other ideas. As a child, Ianni told anybody who would listen, including head coach Tom Izzo, that he would one day play for the Michigan State Spartans.

Families who have supported a child with special needs will connect with this memoir about Sarah, a feisty girl with autism and a unique genetic blueprint. Her mom, Jenny, is equally feisty and determined, which leads her to make a commitment that dramatically changes her and Sarah’s lives—as well as those of many others.

It all started out pretty normal: Paige lived in the countryside with her parents and brother Graham. She went to school, hung out with friends, and all the while everything seemed so much harder than it needed to be. A break in routine threw off the whole day. If her teacher couldn't answer 'why?' in class, she dissolved into tears, unable to articulate her own confusion or explain her lack of control. But Paige was normal. She was popular and well-liked. And until she had a full mental breakdown, no one believed her when she claimed that she was not okay.

In his deeply personal account, Rupert Isaacson tells the amazing story of his autistic son and his transformation through the healing power of horses. From his home in Texas to the wilds of Mongolia, we follow the Isaacson family on an epic journey on horseback - a journey that would test their love, challenge their beliefs and change their lives.

Strange Son is the dramatic story (part memoir, part groundbreaking science) of how the author learned to communicate with her severely autistic son through meeting Soma Mukhopadhyay, a poor, single mother from Bangalore, India, whose own son, Tito, is a genius who is also severely autistic.

In 1991, 21-year-old Sarah, the recently divorced mother to two-year-old Hayley, moved from the dusty small town of Farmington, New Mexico, to the bustling city of Houston, Texas, with dreams of a better life. A year later, she was swept off her feet by Greg Swindell, an established major league baseball player who had just signed a lucrative contract with the Houston Astros. Over the next several years, Sarah's Cinderella story continued.That is until 2002, when her picture-perfect life came to a gut-wrenching halt and Sarah was faced with more pain than she ever thought possible.

Daniel Tammet can perform extraordinary maths in his head, sees numbers as shapes, colours, textures, and motions, and can learn to speak a language fluently from scratch in three days. He also has a compulsive need for order and routine. He eats exactly 45 grams of porridge for breakfast and cannot leave the house without counting the number of items of clothing he's wearing. If he gets stressed or unhappy, he closes his eyes and counts. But in some ways, Daniel is not all like the Rain Man.

Powerful and eye-opening, Seeing Ezra is an inspirational chronicle of a mother's struggle to protect her son from a system that seeks to compartmentalize and "fix" him, and of her journey toward accepting and valuing him for who he is - just as he is.

My Journey with Miles: A Father’s Story of Love, Autism, and Hope is a heartfelt memoir that chronicles a father’s emotional and transformative journey after his son, Miles, is diagnosed with autism. Through the highs and lows, the uncertainties and triumphs, the father navigates the challenges of raising a child with autism, learning invaluable lessons about patience, resilience, and unconditional love along the way.

An Unexpected Story of Hope & Perserverance: As a young child, something was wrong with Michael. He lacked basic motor skills and was unable to follow simple instructions or answer questions. Testing revealed a diagnosis of autism with a low IQ. Experts insisted that leading an independent life would be impossible for him...and school was not an option.

Kicking ASSpergers is the triumphant memoir of one man’s journey with autism and his quest for happiness and self-empowerment despite the many challenges life throws at him. Detailing his struggles with acute anxiety, depression, OCD, psychosis, and suicidal ideation, as well as social stigma and medical bias, Jeremy Tolmie moves through his childhood and into adulthood. Over time, Jeremy starts to alienate the people in his life with his erratic and dangerous behavior. When he meets Dave Ray, a home share provider, Jeremy starts to learn how not to let autism rule his life.

We all know the fairy-tale. An everyday girl meets her Prince Charming, they get married, have children and ride off into the sunset. Sadly, this isn't always the case and Christine McGuinness is keen to change the stereotype that marriage, fame and fortune brings an easy and blissful life. This is Christine's first audiobook, where she tells the world her life story for the very first time. While telling her story, Christine was diagnosed with autism, as revealed in this book for the very first time.

The moving true story of a little girl with Asperger syndrome, controlled and abused by the one person she called her friend. Taylor had always struggled to make friends - she felt 'different'. Taylor never knew her father, and her mother wasn't around much. She just didn't understand people and was alone and scared most of the time. That was until, aged just 11, an older married man called Tom befriended her. She loved having someone who would talk to her, listen to her - a protector. But when he moved away a few months later, she was easy prey.

A singular woman who speaks for humanity and community at large, Cathy Marinelli Gagliano shares from her heart and soul. A Mother's Intuition/Volume 2 takes us into her family's authentic, raw, and vulnerable journey filled with strength, humor and a deep faith in her conviction to limitless growth!

Marnie's story in Embrace is an honest and raw portrayal of a mother's quest to understand and support her son Andy, who lives with ADHD, autism, and anxiety, which develops into a deep depression as he reaches his teens. In this gripping narrative, she takes readers through the ups and downs of parenting a child with neurological differences, from moments of frustration to life-changing realizations. The book is structured in two parts-first, Marnie's touching, personal story, and second, valuable lessons learned over the years.

Melanie Sykes has lived most of her life in the public eye. But after a lifetime of being seen – as model, chat show host and broadcaster, Melanie walked away from that career to spend her time helping others be heard, as a campaigner for women’s rights and an advocate for neurodiversity. Then, at 52, Melanie got her own diagnosis of autism and it flicked a switch in her own life. It cast a new light on her own journey and also illuminated the other side of her story – her struggle to be heard, her heartbreaks and challenges, her self-medicating and trauma.

When James Cook's daughter was nearly one, he began to suspect that she wasn't simply a 'late bloomer', as he and his wife were telling friends and family. Emily was strongly taken by images and patterns around the house, had a marked response to music, but never pointed at anything, and hadn't crawled yet. At the age of two-and-a-half, after months of invasive tests, Emily was finally diagnosed with severe autism and everything changed.