Reviews tagging 'Bullying'
Sincerely, Your Autistic Child: What People on the Autism Spectrum Wish Their Parents Knew about Growing Up, Acceptance, and Identity by
7 reviews
virgoreadss's review
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, and Child abuse
flairofclaire's review
4.25
Graphic: Ableism and Bullying
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Grief
Minor: Self harm and Transphobia
maeverose's review against another edition
3.75
I’m not the target audience, I’m not a parent and don’t plan to be. I’ve suspected I’m autistic (or neurodivergent at least) for years now and read this mostly for myself.
Most of the essays focus on the contributor’s life experiences growing up to adulthood with advice mixed in, some are mainly just advice. I had an issue with the very binary, bioessentialist language used when talking about gender throughout most of the book. The first edition was published with only essays for autistic girls, and this one they just added some trans people in there and put a preface in the beginning trying to convince you the book is inclusive (I’m not sure if every contributor is new for this edition or if they included essays from the first edition). Most of the essays still use very binary language when talking about gender, and some of them even have somewhat misogynistic stereotypes. I wish they made sure all the contributors got the memo to use more inclusive language. It reads a bit strange jumping from an essay with very exclusionary language to one from a trans author.
There was also a few comments in one essay in particular that bothered me, that being ‘A daughter’s journey: lessons, honesty and love’ by Jennifer St. Jude. Besides using very binary language to begin with, she says things like ‘girls are more emotional and sensitive’ And ‘girls are naturally more expressive and social’, which does not apply to all girls. She should’ve said ‘girls can be’ instead of ‘girls are’. Personally I think it’s more that afabs/girls/women are taught to be that way, not necessarily that they’re naturally that way (though some can be, of course). Boys/amabs are able to get away with being less social and ‘polite’. Also the ‘every girl on the spectrum has a secret skill or ability’ comment irked me. Yes everybody can find things that they’re good at, but the wording here could feed into some people’s belief that autism comes with some sort of super powers, which it doesn’t.
Overall though, these are relatively small complaints. I think it’s a decent book and could be very helpful for a lot of parents to raise their kids in a healthy and supportive way, as opposed to the incredibly damaging ways that are often encouraged for autistic children.
My favorite essays:
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Child abuse
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Murder, and Self harm
Moderate: Eugenicstea_at_mole_end's review
3.5
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, and Sexual harassment
allweseeorseem's review
3.75
Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Ableism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Xenophobia
leahlovesloslibros's review
5.0
I loved the letter format of this book; it drew me in and made the text easy to digest. I also love that the individuals whose stories were being told were able to share their thoughts, feelings, experiences with their loved ones while also educating others so that we may all benefit and learn how to better treat autistic individuals, as well as advocate for them. As someone who works with children, this can be especially useful to me, and I look forward to learning more about how I can work with and advocate for autistic individuals.
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Bullying, Death of parent, and Child abuse
Minor: Drug use
Additional TW/CW: verbal abuse, sexual abuse, discussions of Harry Potter, menstruation, divorcecourtneyfalling's review
3.5
Moderate: Bullying and Ableism
Minor: Sexual violence and Suicidal thoughts