Years ago I was visiting with a friend from college. During our conversation she looked at me and wondered if I had a lot of air signs in my star chart or if I was perhaps on the autism spectrum. At the time, neither of those things made any sense to me, but I figured that since she was a professional astrologer and the mother of an autistic daughter that she was seeing what she was used to seeing. At the time, my ideas about autism were entirely formed by the way autism has been portrayed by non-autistic people and none of that looked like me. Lots of air signs seemed like a more likely option than autism.
In the last couple of years I’ve seen a lot more from actually autistic people sharing their real life experiences unfiltered by neurotypical spokespeople. Now, maybe being autistic isn’t as wild an idea as I thought it was 15 years ago. I have official diagnosis for chronic depression and generalized anxiety disorder. I am 98% certain that I have ADHD. I don’t know how much ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder overlap, so I’m reluctant to diagnosis myself with ASD as well. Someday I may seek testing and diagnosis. Getting a better handle on how my brain works has made my life so much better. Getting an authentic picture of how different brains work is an inherent good.
Sensory: Life on the Spectrum – An Autistic Comic Anthology is an anthology of short webcomics by 30 creators about life as actually autistic people. With 30 different people, there is a depth and breadth of experiences and perspectives on being autistic. I have no idea if or where the collection falls short. Not every installment spoke to me, but I’m sure that anyone looking to learn more about autism will find value. I think this collection would be a great for people who know they want to know more but aren’t sure what they want to know. At least one of the experiences illustrated here will be the right doorway.
After reading it I’m still half and half on where I land. A lot of the sensory issues did not resonate with me, but masking and autistic burnout felt very familiar and would explain a lot. So Shanna, if you’re reading this, you may have been on to something. Drop me a comment because I lost your address and I don’t know how to find you. I still don’t understand air signs. Please explain.
I received this as an advance reader copy via NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.