Autism All-Stars : How we use our Asperger Traits to shine in life is a complication of essays written by Autistic people and edited by Josie Santomauro.
The chapters in the book are grouped into five parts. Let's take a look.
Education - Three essays the reflect the true lived experiences of people as they faced the numerous challenges and bullying and other behaviour problems and social difficulties.
Careers - One of the five essays in this section is written by favourite, Temple Grandin and true to her style she delivers words of wisdom on how to make a career out of a hobby and some precious suggestion how to survive and flourish in the job. The other contributors also share many valuable life lessons.
Relationships - There are three wonderful essays in this section written by Wendy Lawson, who talks about the importance of friends; Stephen Shore shares his experiences about how he learned to navigate the relationships in his life and when we meet them half the way, we can build a beautiful relationship; Deborah Lipsky shares how her intimate relationship with nature and animals have made her a more social person. I loved all the essays.
Creativity - This section has five essays written by artists on the spectrum. It was interesting to read the one written by Jeanette Purkis an artist as she narrates her journey and the struggles she faced as she tried to paint the faces of people and her Aspie traits made it very difficult for her to accomplish that accurately. There are essays written by Donna Williams and Peter Myers. If your kiddo is an artist, don't miss this section, its an eye-opener!
Special Interests - This part has three essays that reveal how the author's special interests help them to cope and survive in this world. I particularly liked the one written by Will Hadcroft. It helped me understand how watching the same shows/movies repeatedly helped him. It always used to intrigue me when I read about kids/adults on the spectrum having this special liking for a movie they would watch innumerable times, were they doing it because it was predictable outcome in this chaotic world or did it serve a deeper purpose? It has a very special purpose and helps them to connect to their deeper selves and these characters in the movie become friends who help and guide them through tough times!
You can purchase this book on Amazon India
