Description
Understanding Life Experiences from Early Childhood to Old Age
The difference that being female makes to the diagnosis, life and experiences of a person with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has largely gone unresearched and unreported until recently. In this book Sarah Hendrickx has collected both academic research and personal stories about girls and women on the autism spectrum to present a picture of their feelings, thoughts and experiences at each stage of their lives.
Outlining how autism presents differently and can hide itself in females and what the likely impact will be for them throughout their lifespan, the book looks at how females with ASD experience diagnosis, childhood, education, adolescence, friendships, sexuality, employment, pregnancy and parenting and aging. It will provide invaluable guidance for the professionals who support these girls and women and it will offer women with autism a guiding light in interpreting and understanding their own life experiences through the experiences of others.
About the Author:
Sarah is autistic. She has worked at Axia-ASD since 2017, diagnosing both NHS and private clients. Prior to this she carried out Non-clinical Assessments independently for the previous 8 years. She has also trained psychiatrists in the diagnosis of female Autism. Sarah has also delivered over 1000 Autism training workshops and conference presentations internationally to all types of professionals from educators and care providers to counsellors and lawyers. She has an unusually blunt and humorous speaking style which is more informal and ‘says it like it is’ more than many professionals. More information can be found on her website on asperger-training.com
Foreword by Dr Judith Gould, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Director of The Lorna Wing Centre for Autism:
This book adds to our knowledge by providing an insightful, sensitive analysis of the pattern of behaviours in females from childhood through to old age… This book endorses my clinical experiences in working with females in the autism spectrum and validates the importance of diagnosis at any time in a person’s life. Therefore I would highly recommend this book for all professionals involved in diagnosis and supporting girls and women in the autism spectrum.
