Notes for Neuro Navigators

Notes for Neuro Navigators is an advice book for autistic people's friends, families, educators, and loved ones.

It's written by Jolene Stockman, a woman from New Zealand who is autistic herself — which is pretty important, since much advice for autistic people's families has been propagated by people who may or may not have our best interests in mind. Better to hear from someone who has lived experience and doesn't write about us like we're a burden to society ;)

The main thrust of this book is that autistic people are fine the way we are, and instead of pressuring us to be "normal," perhaps the world could just be less of an asshole (read: more accommodating) to disabled people. This would actually make life better for everyone!

And whether you're a friend, relative, therapist, or employer of an autistic person, that's really the primary thing you need to know.

Stockman provides plenty of ideas for how to accommodate autistic people as well, focusing on reimagining your daily life, involving more comfort in your routines, and throwing out your preconceived notions of what people "should" be able to do. She also has suggestions on navigating neurotypical-autistic communication differences and dealing with people in your life who might not be accepting of autism right away.

The book is short, sweet, and easy to read, because it's peppered with block quotes, tables, bullet points, and subheadings like an online article. My only caveat is that it leans a little hard on the social model of disability by suggesting that in a world with universal accommodations, there would be no disability at all. This may be true for some autistic people and seems well-intentioned (we should have a far more accommodating society!), but the blanket statement might not fully resonate with every disabled person. However, this is a minor qualm in an otherwise helpful tome.

In my opinion, the uniqueness of this book is that it has the potential to provide insight to basically anyone who will ever encounter an autistic person in their life. As I read it, I imagined giving it to my boss, therapist, family, and friends as well, as it's quite a fast, compassionate, and informative read.

*Note: This isn't explicitly a "how to parent your autistic child" book, but frankly, it might be the only one parents need to read. (Please avoid the ableist ones... I'm begging you.)