TJ’s Takes

Meet TJ

“I was diagnosed with autism in 1993, when I was three years old. From my earliest memory, I've always been passionate about storytelling, whether in books, in film, or in video games - to follow that passion, after graduating high school, I studied English at UIC and the University of Minnesota with the end goal of becoming a teacher. A profoundly difficult time in graduate school, which eventually forced my withdrawal, forced me to understand my autism diagnosis more closely, as I now understood that without that understanding, such misfortunes would inevitably repeat themselves. My relationship with Have Dreams began in 2017, when I joined the Have Dreams Academy program. An unintended side effect of my time in that program was my realization of just how profoundly stacked the odds are against autistic people to thrive in the world - by program's end, my desire to help create a world more attuned to the needs of people on the spectrum had awakened. To that end, after my time in Have Dreams Academy I began working with Have Dreams directly, first as an intern and then on a more formal basis.”

TJ’s Book Summaries

(The) Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

When autistic secondary schooler Christopher Boone discovers his neighbor’s dog’s been killed, he decides to not only solve the mystery of the murder, but write a book about it too. Haddon’s unforgettable novel presents itself as Christopher’s book, told from his (very) limited first-person perspective that manages to feel simultaneously alien yet profoundly heartfelt.  Though Haddon portrays Christopher - a boy gifted with an extraordinary talent in math and logic - as singularly capable of solving the mystery, his portrayal of autism is not as one sided as it may appear. The novel is unafraid to examine the strain an autism diagnosis can place on a family - the characters try may try their best, but this does not prevent what are often intense and uncomfortable scenes of familial conflict. Nevertheless, these scenes of conflict are not given the last word, and the novel ends as both a celebration of the differences people like Christopher embody, but a dedication to try and create a world where people with those differences can thrive.

Unmasking Autism by Devon Price

Masking - defined as someone with autism hiding or suppressing aspects of themselves to appear more neurotypical - is a concept that has received more attention in recent years, and is the preeminent focus of Price’s book. Utilizing a combination of personal experiences and his psychological background (he’s a Loyola PhD graduate), Price not only vividly illustrates the intense psychological toll masking siphons from autistics, but - and this is critical - conclusively argues almost every person on the spectrum is forced to mask due to unfair, hypocritical, and in some cases, bigoted social norms. Despite, by necessity, having to wade through the mire of this shameful cultural baggage, the book is far from despairing - at its core, Price argues that if more autistics understand themselves and why they mask, it will not only make them more comfortable accepting their differences, but in the long run, create a more equitable world for everyone, regardless of neurotype. One of the best books on the subject of the past decade, destined to enter the pantheon of classics.

What I Want to Talk About by Pete Wharmby

As far as I’m aware, this is the only book that takes as its subject the notion of Autistic Special Interests. That alone makes it worthy of reading - however, to end this recommendation here would be in many ways selling it short. Wharmby does not just expound on the importance of Special Interests (though he does a great job at that too) - he uses those interests as a springboard to discuss what appears to be every relevant issue connected to autism in the 21st Century. This is accomplished in (at least in the ebook version I read for this annotation) a mere 119 pages - Wharmby is able to cram what feels like a lifetime’s worth of insight in such a limited space without ever feeling like he’s rushing. As far as value for time investment is concerned, this book is without peer in the realm of autism.