A celebration of the talents and insights of children on the autism spectrum, The Hidden World of Autism presents a collection of writings and drawings contributed by 21 autistic children.
The children’s work covers topics that are of primary importance in understanding some of the common experiences that children with autism, and their families, go through. These include life before diagnosis, friendships, relationships, feelings, bullying and the future. A key characteristic of having autism is the inability to express emotions; but too often that prevents children with autism from being listened to. This book gives them both a voice and a forum for creative expression and provides direct insight into what having autism means for the children themselves and how they feel about their experiences.
This unique collection provides invaluable insights into the autistic experience for professionals, families and friends of children with autism, as well as the children themselves.
Table of Content
1. Introduction. 2. What’s so Different about Me? Life on the Autistic Spectrum. 3. School. 4. Me, My Friends and my Family. 5. Those things that I Do – Obsessions and Special interests. 6. The Future. References. Biographies. Index.
About the author
Dr Rebecca Chilvers is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist specialising in neonatal care. She has worked with hundreds of families who have been through the neonatal journey with a wide range of experiences, backgrounds and outcomes and was one of the first neonatal psychologists to work in the UK developing the service at Evelina London. She now works as the Lead Psychologist for the East of England region and is actively involved in teaching, training, research and a range of initiatives to improve the psychological care of babies, parents and staff within the NHS, the chartable sector and as an independent consultant and clinician.