‘Even though I’m autistic…’

Well, we’ve had early-bird copies of my book for two weeks and my son’s copy is starting to look well-loved.  He carries it with us in the car driving to school and reads me bits out loud. Then he says, ‘Aren’t you impressed that a boy who used to confuse his pronouns and was obsessed by numbers is now a School Councillor?  And I won’t be mean to younger children like some boys are.  Even though I’m autistic, I can still be a School Councillor.’

Maybe he’ll be a good School Councillor because he’s autistic.  I’m sure he’ll be great at remembering the school rules and ringing the siren exactly on time.  There was recently some press coverage of Tim Fischer, suggesting he was certainly Australia’s first autistic deputy prime minister.  I liked the letter printed in The Austalian from John Toohey that responded to the original article and suggested that one of Tim Fischer’s strengths was probably his autism and the original vision that gave him.

Wouldn’t it be great if there were more everyday heroes and role models with autism for people like my son to read and hear about?

7 Responses to “‘Even though I’m autistic…’”

  1. Adam says:

    I agree it would be good to hear more about people who are successful and fulfilled who also happen to be autistic.

    Just wondering if this book is available as an e-book for my iPad?

    Thanks.

  2. Rachel says:

    Hi Adam
    Glad you agree. Let me know if you see any other good role models.
    Yes, the book will be available as an eBook in a little while. I’ll check on the details and post the information here.
    Thanks for visiting.

  3. Nicholas says:

    But there have always been successful and fulfilled people who also happen to be autistic! There are a number of lists of them on the Web, including contemporary and historic figures thought to have this condition. There are some pretty inspiring names amongst them.

  4. Rachel says:

    Hi Nicholas
    Yes, I think its great that people make these lists available, though I know some people don’t agree with retrospective diagnosis of other people. Still, I do feel that more ‘ordinary’ autistic people need to be around in the media. By ordinary I mean not necessarily famous composers or scientists or hugely successful people like Bill Gates but people running small businesses or doing everyday kind of things.

  5. Nicholas says:

    I take your point, though one might ask if there is any such thing as an ‘ordinary autistic person’. Here are some examples of seemingly ordinary boys with autism who provide great role models; some of them are heroes:-

    Yogi Boy
    Map Boy
    Business Boy
    Made for the Job
    Intrepid Boys
    Boy Poet
    Boy’s Own Story
    Boy Hero
    Boy Saves Teacher’s Life
    Boy Saves Mum
    Boy Saves Friend

  6. philippa says:

    Hi Rachel,

    I am a mother of a young boy on the spectrum and hearing your story on the radio really resonated with me. I could relate to so much of what you said. I would love to order your book online..could you suggest the best place to do this?
    Thank you for sharing your story, it is inspirational hearing of other parents positive approach to their children with ASD. It somehow makes me feel stronger on the path of our own journey with our son and ASD.
    Thank you.

    • Rachel says:

      Hi Philippa
      Thank you so much for contacting me. You can buy my book online via Readings online store (free postage, good service) – or there’s a list of other online book retailers where it’s available here.
      I do hope you enjoy my story. Let me know what you think.
      I think it is important to share our stories about different parenting journeys to reach out both to other parents of children on the autism spectrum and to parents of typically developing children.

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