My sister is on the autism spectrum, and I feel that sometimes I need to be more attentive to her specific needs and challenges. I’m trying to be more understanding and empathetic.
Please suggest some books I can read on the topic. Ideally, they would be available on Kindle. A lot of the ones I’ve found are about romantic relationships, not familial ones.
No specific recommendations at the moment, but a LOT of choices here - Autistic Rights and Neurodiversity Movements – The Autism Books by Autistic Authors Project
I found the book Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism by Barry Prizant to be helpful in understanding my son.
You might want to read one of the most beloved and popular books, Neurotribes, though I haven’t read it myself. It popularized the idea of “neurodiversity” as opposed to a medical model.
Do you know about your sister’s current support needs? I think I would recommend different books depending on whether she is dealing with a significant disability or is more high functioning.
For example,The Reason I Jump is written by a thirteen year old non-verbal autistic boy.
She’s high-functioning but she has a limited social battery and tolerance for noise.
Unmasking Autism is another good one. It talks a lot about lower support needs people who mask their autism (try to appear neurotypical.)
As someone with ADHD I can confirm masking is exhausting.
Anything by Temple Grandin would probably be of interest. I especially recommend “Thinking In Pictures: My Life With Autism.”
There was a book that came out some years ago called “Riding The Bus With My Sister” that was also made into a TV movie, and while the sister had an intellectual disability, not autism, that might also be relevant.
One book I’ve read is Strong Female Character by Fern Brady. She’s a Scottish comedian. She points out how various things about her meant that it took a long time to diagnose her autism. She’s female, pretty, has had the same boyfriend for over twelve years, and worked for awhile as a stripper,
There’s a Temple Grandin movie I’ve seen. Very interesting. And eye-opening.
HBO produced bio pix, Claire Danes starring. Titled: Temple Grandin
Very easy watch.