Untypical: How the world isn’t built for autistic people and what we should all do about it

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Pete, 39, describes Untypical as a ‘beginner’s guide to what it is to be autistic in the modern world, written with both neurotypical and neurodivergent readers in mind’. Untypical proved to be an incredibly useful tool - something I found validating in the many areas of life where I'd most identified my own autism affects me - but not one without its own flaws.

RSD (Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria): a collective term for a set of reactions to any kind of negative attention, seemingly no matter how minor or inconsequential. The reaction can be pretty extreme, causing disproportionate response. I didn’t always enjoy the tone of the book and whilst I appreciate the point that living in a world that isn’t inclusive of neurodiverse people is highly stressful, it does seem like a rant in places rather than a constructive “what we should all do about it”A good, brisk read. The voice really isn't half as snarky as people make out. Wharmby is only occasionally (understandably) miffed, but just as often he is really quite funny.

While the author importantly stated that his book does not represent the autism community and can speak for all autistic people, and not all autistic are the same, it highlights the commonalities and the understanding base on the author's career and his experience. Autistic people are just peculiar and also distinct by itself. Their constant heightened state of sensory input, together with over-sensitivity to a stimulus trumps above the neurotypicals. The threshold and limit for these people might be hard for us to grasp. Certain chapters in this book offer solutions to bridge the gap between the autism community and the society living together- social, work environment, enclaves and spaces. Mostly, this book gave us a lens to what it is like to be living in a autistic body. As an autistic person, I really appreciated the chapter on the ‘spiky profile’. Of the models used to describe autism, this is one of my favourites and I felt Wharmby explained it very well.Hij benadrukte dat speciale interesses niet beperkt zijn tot het stereotype beeld. Even verderop besprak hij steeds onderwerpen zoals wiskunde, computerspelletjes en superhelden. Ik vind hier weinig vrouwelijke insteek terug, net zoals in de rest van het boek eigenlijk. Net daarom dat ik een ding zoals een literatuurlijst essentieel vind om een grondig onderzoek te kunnen doen. Pete eloquently and passionately explains the the challenges of having to navigate our round-hole world as a square peg and therefore is a comforting and validating read for anyone who is Untypical. Rectangle, parallelogram, rhombus, whichever neuro-shape you are, this book can help us all to create a more inclusive society.’ – Dr Meg Arroll This is a great book for someone with a family member or friend who has been diagnosed with autism to give them a slight insight into some aspects of autism. Autism is on such a wide spectrum that it can not be applied to every diagnosis.