When my therapist asked if I had read Unmasking Autism a few weeks ago, I knew my whole mentality towards a lot of things was about to change. So I put it on hold at the library…but then I couldn’t wait so I downloaded the audiobook on Libro.FM and bought a print copy the next time I was at B&N.
From the start, I had a whole new way of looking at what my life had looked like for nearly four decades, and what that might mean for me. Price writes in an incredibly accessible way, and goes through not just what masking looks like, but what autism might look like in people who aren’t white men. Using interviews with queer and BIPOC, often late-diagnosed autistics, Price digs into the ways Autism might unexpectedly show itself when people aren’t looking for it, and the ways people who have been historically and systemically excluded by society might cover up their “weirdness” when they don’t have the support that more privileged people have had. There are charts and exercises that really make you think, whether you are autistic or not; and there were many stories that made my brain wander back to my own experiences. It was compelling and enriching, and I have to go back through the print copy and tab a LOT of pages (now that it seems my eyes work for reading again).
I’ll also pick up Price’s first book, Laziness Does Not Exist, because I’m sure I’ll learn more about my own experiences with ADHD (lolsob).
Five Stars, definitely recommend, whether you yourself are wondering if you have Autism, know someone who might have Autism, or if you’re just curious about what Autism looks like beyond Sheldon, Sherlock and House.