Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity Hardcover – April 5, 2022

I got 10 pages in and started to cry. I felt so understood and suddenly embraced instead of alone. I don’t fit the mold of an Autistic male. I was married, I have to beautiful girls, and a great creative design job. Yet here I am, sitting in a bar that has enough people that I can’t hear all the conversations simultaneously, by myself reading this book and I couldn’t be happier. We now know my youngest daughter is Autistic as well and I am the only one who can sit with her during a moment of needing to regulate and I feel like the only one who speaks her language. Her cries don’t bother me, her flailing and indecipherable language don’t bother me; in fact, I feel more normal in those moments than daily life because it’s like suddenly hearing someone speak your native language in a foreign country. This book makes me feel normal and I hope that I can make her feel accepted and celebrated instead of what I grew up with that formed numerous, thick, and impossible to remove masks that are taking a lifetime to discard and be myself. Thank you!

I think my mom said it was good

So there I was, meeting with the autism specialist. This specialist, who I’d never met before, concluded within about 10 minutes of meeting me that I was on the autism spectrum, but he had me do a bunch of tests to be sure.At one point, he checked on me during the testing because I was taking forever. I told him I felt the questions were too vague and gave him an example: “Do you prefer the museum or the theater?” And I said to the doc, “Well, which museum is it? And is this a movie theater? If it’s a movie theater, what movies are playing? Is the museum full of dumb stuff I don’t care about or is it cool? How can I possibly make an accurate decision without this information??” And he laughed—and I laughed, because I knew it was funny that I kept getting hung up on this stuff. But also, apparently, needing details about a thing is a very HFASD thing to do.Every single test showed that I have high-functioning autism.Right before the end of our session, he told me to read this book. “It’ll change your life,” he said.He was not wrong. This book has changed my life. And that doctor, overall, has helped save my life.So, this book is a doctorate-of-psychology-autism-specialist recommended book. If you want to understand autism—truly understand it, not just what angry-moms-who-hate-their-kids, years of cruel bias perpetuated by organizations and scientists, and TV tell you about it, this is a really good place to start.That second picture shows all the dog-eared pages I put in this book, marking passages that meant a lot to me. That means this is a well loved book I plan to read again.Autism is simply another way of thinking, seeing, and processing the world. Folks who are considered “high functioning” on the spectrum are likely wildly under diagnosed, and hiding—or “masking”—trying to live in a world that is not very kind to them (speaking from experience, but Dr. Price also goes over this in great detail in the book). In this book, you learn that the autistic brain is physically different from the neurotypical brain, and how that happens, and what that means. Dr. Price gives advice on how to create an environment around yourself as an autistic person—which is also helpful to those who love someone who is autistic—that is better suited to what your brain needs, and gives advice on how to remove the mask and let go of neurotypical expectations.Wow. Seriously, I cannot rave about this book enough. When I finished it, I actually bought two more copies just to give away to people… honestly, I’m trying to make as many people read it as possible.It took me a while to finish it because I had to keep taking breaks, because it hit a lot of my trauma. I cried a few times. When you’re a neurodivergent person trying to live in a neurotypical world, that world will try its best to beat you into a box. To be honest, I learned years ago I would never fit into any box, and started “unmasking.” But this book was still so very empowering to me. It shows just how broad the spectrum is, and how important it is to our mental health that we take care of ourselves, embrace what we need to be at peace, and just let ourselves *be*.

As the parent of an autistic transgender young adult woman, I found in this book great information that helped me understand what my daughter has been growing through... and it gave me some hope about her future.However, I was a bit thrown off by chapter 8 that I found to be too political... Although, I understand change has to be made to improve the life of disabled people, it was not the literature I was going after when I purchased the book...

No wonder this book is a cultural phenomenon. It's a powerful book that is very personal to read but you will also want to lend it to everybody you know. Dr. Price changed countless lives by publishing this work. Absolutely made a huge impact on my life and I have talked over specific excerpts from this book with my friends, family, spouse, and therapist. Be prepared to learn a lot about yourself, get angry, and be comforted at the same time. Be prepared to write in the margins, underline, and take notes. This is an awesome book! Thanks, Dr. Price! #autisticjoy