pookykun's review against another edition
A good, brisk read. The voice really isn't half as snarky as people make out. Wharmby is only occasionally (understandably) miffed, but just as often he is really quite funny.
The discussions in this book are mostly based on personal experiences and experiences volunteered by the author's followers on twitter, so it's very easy to follow and is quite personable. Some might critise the accounts for being thin on referencing and lacking hardy evidence, but this actually dovetails with the move away from old-fashioned, misguided definitions, born in laboratories by well-meaning or not people just plain getting things wrong, and towards viewing different neurotypes as they exist in reality and interact with a society not built with them in mind. Dated signifiers of autism get refreshed; stiff, rigid movement, for example, gets reframed here as a symptom of stress, which tracks because autistic people are often extremely stressed, and here are ten thousand personal anecdotes about how the author is living in a world that stresses him out, etcetera. In this way, Untypical proves to be an extremely valuable, valid text that engages and informs.
I'd really recommend it to people interested in autism and in making work places/school/home relationships better for the autistic people in their lives. Also, autistic/ADHD readers will surely find great joy in simply pointing and saying, "Look! That's so me! And THAT'S so me. Oh, wait, this one isn't me at all. Nope. But look! That's me! And THAT'S me, too! And-"
The discussions in this book are mostly based on personal experiences and experiences volunteered by the author's followers on twitter, so it's very easy to follow and is quite personable. Some might critise the accounts for being thin on referencing and lacking hardy evidence, but this actually dovetails with the move away from old-fashioned, misguided definitions, born in laboratories by well-meaning or not people just plain getting things wrong, and towards viewing different neurotypes as they exist in reality and interact with a society not built with them in mind. Dated signifiers of autism get refreshed; stiff, rigid movement, for example, gets reframed here as a symptom of stress, which tracks because autistic people are often extremely stressed, and here are ten thousand personal anecdotes about how the author is living in a world that stresses him out, etcetera. In this way, Untypical proves to be an extremely valuable, valid text that engages and informs.
I'd really recommend it to people interested in autism and in making work places/school/home relationships better for the autistic people in their lives. Also, autistic/ADHD readers will surely find great joy in simply pointing and saying, "Look! That's so me! And THAT'S so me. Oh, wait, this one isn't me at all. Nope. But look! That's me! And THAT'S me, too! And-"
uriah's review against another edition
3.75
The fact that I finished this just minutes after I finished the final 60th anniversary doctor who special speaks volumes
linguisticali's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
3.5
As another memoir-like book this was pretty good, but for something claiming to be a guide to making the world better for autistic people generally this was very light on research and relied a lot on anecdotes and Twitter polls.
elise_dragon13's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
greentea1's review against another edition
4.0
Found it pretty useful and insightful, I also really didn’t realised how autistic is mostly hereditary
We as a society definitely don’t do enough to accommodate people, let alone autistic people , makes you more aware of the struggles and some of the ways you can help
We as a society definitely don’t do enough to accommodate people, let alone autistic people , makes you more aware of the struggles and some of the ways you can help
valouis13's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent book to give to family & friends who don't know a lot about autism