Untypical: How the world isn’t built for autistic people and what we should all do about it

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Zoals eerder aangegeven, had ik niet veel verwachtingen qua nieuwe informatie. Over het algemeen is dat ook het geval, maar dat hoeft niet noodzakelijk een minpunt te zijn. In de tussentijd leerde ik wel interessante termen zoals ‘monotropism’. Op het einde van deze recensie las ik een veelzeggende quote over iets wat best wel actueel en problematisch is. Untypical proved to be an incredibly useful tool - something I found validating in the many areas of life where I'd most identified my own autism affects me - but not one without its own flaws. The modern world is built for neurotypicals: needless noise, bright flashing lights, small talk, phone calls, unspoken assumptions and unwritten rules – it can be a nightmarish dystopia for the autistic population. In Untypical, Pete Wharmby lays bare the experience of being ‘different’, explaining with wit and warmth just how exhausting it is to fit in to a world not designed for you. 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. There was a few times i laughed as i resonated with the content and i finished the book feeling like i had a better understanding of myself as well as my daughters.

This is an informative and interesting book about being autistic in a hostile world. It is aimed at allistic (non-autistic) and neurotypical people, with helpful advice on how to be more autism-friendly. Wharmby covers areas of life such as school, the workplace, and relationships, recounting his own experiences and providing a guide on how autistic people can struggle to cope and what can be done to accommodate them. RSD (Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria): a collective term for a set of reactions to any kind of negative attention, seemingly no matter how minor or inconsequential. The reaction can be pretty extreme, causing disproportionate response. Standardised recruitment processes aren’t geared up to get the best out of autistic people, which is why so many talented autistic adults fail to get jobs.” While the line between what autism truly means for us and the post-traumatic stress we deal with on daily basis due to the life we continually have to put up with is continuously murky, Wharmby does a great job of identifying all the minutia of the experience. Pete, 39, describes Untypical as a ‘beginner’s guide to what it is to be autistic in the modern world, written with both neurotypical and neurodivergent readers in mind’.There are so many aspects of this book I can strongly relate to having a teenage son with autism and it compounds my fervent belief and efforts to make the voices of autistic people heard. The neurodiverse community has so much to give but in such an inhospitable society, they miss out on too many opportunities. I see that happening on a daily basis and it makes me sad; I write to my MP to attend autism parliamentary forums and bang my drum just as much as possible but I find those who do not have autism or someone very close to them who does cannot understand the limitations society and the world as a whole place on neurodiverse people.

But this book is more than an explanation. After a late diagnosis and a lifetime of ‘masking’, Pete is the perfect interlocutor to explain how our two worlds can meet, and what we can do for the many autistic people in our schools, workplaces and lives. The result: a practical handbook for all of us to make the world a simpler, better place for autistic people to navigate, and a call to arms for anyone who believes in an inclusive society and wants to be part of the solution. In seeking to encourage a change in the world, the book also looks at how people can be allies. Tips include being aware of masking, reserving judgement, and understanding that “communication differences can have drastic outcomes”. Moves which can help attract more autistic staff include job coaching to ensure employees are properly matched with a company and role, neurodiversity training to educate all staff and making reasonable adjustments in the working day to support staff.The book seeks to explain what it is like to navigate society from the perspective of an autistic person, and is a call to arms to create a more inclusive society for neurodivergent people. It often begins in childhood, when it becomes apparent that their social skills are different to that of their peers and they’re frequently at a loss to understand what’s going on. Frequently, autistic people are mistreated and bullied because of all or some of these things. This leads a lot of the autistic community to learn how to adopt a kind of persona – based on all the things they have noticed in other people – to fit more easily into society. Considering it’s usually self-taught, it’s often extraordinarily successful and is one of the main reasons why so many autistic people slip through the diagnostic net and only realise they’re neurodivergent much later in life.” Only 30 per cent felt comfortable disclosing their disability to HR, which means many do not get the support they need. After being diagnosed at the age of 34, I found myself in a community of people that I didn’t know much about, but the more I learned, I realised how much difficulty autistic people face was really down to ignorance on the part of their non-autistic peers, family and friends,” explained Pete, an ex Spalding Grammar School pupil also known locally for his time in band Sires of Nothing, where he was lead vocallist and rhythm guitarist. Pete Wharmby with his latest book, Untypical (62969417) He said: “Autistic people often have exceptional abilities when it comes to skills such as memory, attention to detail and pattern recognition, which many employers are desperate to find.

This book is a great starting point for people, not autistic and autistic alike, who want to know what life for autistic people can look like. It's an important source for friends, family and especially employers!

Pete was diagnosed with Autism later in life and courageously shares how difficult daily life is living in an neurotypical world. This book has helped me enter a little bit further into the world my son battles with daily and gives such invaluable and insightful lessons and experiences that can make life that little bit easier for autistic children and adults. Pete uses his own experiences and great humour to highlight the very simple and little tweaks and changes we can all do to make daily life whether in a school or work setting or in social environments that bit easier for neurodiverse children and adults. A former teacher, Pete has shared his very personal experiences in this book, sharing what it means to be “different” and how exhausting is it to fit into a world not designed for someone who is neurodivergent. Not diagnosed until he was 34, Pete has experienced a lifetime of “masking”– a tool used by many autistic people. Adapted from Untypical, Pete explains “masking”: Irish News Hoping to see Bruce Springsteen? Flying to Cardiff may prove far cheaper than going to Dublin