Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD and Dyspraxia

“I Swear” I have just watched the 2025 award winning film called “I Swear”. It is described as a “biographical black comedy-drama”, and if there is one genre that the British Film Industry excel at, it is this sort of dark comedy, in the same sort of vein as Trainspotting or Four Lions. This film…

Why Can’t I Just Enjoy Things?: A Comedian’s Guide to Autism Hardcover – 18 July 2024 by Pierre Novellie Having had the pleasure of attending the Axia PDSG when Pierre was guest speaker, I had looked forward to reading his book. Well it did not disappoint. I actually borrowed this book but I am going…

Paws For Assistance by Lynne Jones ISBN-13: 979-8878420365 I was delighted to be asked to review this book and then the enormity of the task hit me. How on Earth can I do this book and it’s author, justice? There is a huge demand for assistance/emotional support dogs and the supply does not come close…

Book Review of “FALL DOWN SEVEN TIMES, GET UP EIGHT” By Naoki Higashida, Introduced by David Mitchell Translated by David Mitchel and K A Yoshida Publisher: Sceptre; Unabridged edition (11 July 2017) This aspirational book by Higashida provides a unique perspective into the wonderful mind of an autistic nonverbal man proving that although he…

Mortal Shell No doubt we’re all eagerly awaiting the release of the Demon’s Souls remake, which is being released as a launch title for the PS5 on the 19th November 2020 (12th November in America and Japan), as well as more information on the upcoming Eldin Ring. As a massive souls fan myself I am…

Book Review of “How Can I Remember All That?” by Dr. Tracy Packiam Alloway, illustrated by David O’Connell Publishers: Jessica Kingsley Publishers Dr Tracy Packiam Alloway is an award-winning psychologist, professor, author and TEDx speaker. She navigates through over a decade’s worth of knowledge on memory to present a concise but informative guide on…

Book Review of “Asperger’s Children: The Origins of Autism in Nazi Vienna” By Edith Sheffer Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. (2018) I would like to warn people here that this is not at all a ‘feel good’ book. I’ve read it twice, and both times had to limit my reading to a…

Book Review of Asperger Syndrome & Employment What People with Asperger Syndrome Really Really Want By Sarah Hendrickx Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers I initially wanted to read this book after hearing Sarah Hendrickx give a talk on the subject of employment. She was captivating and engaging and I felt that I might gain…

Book Review of “The Reason I Jump” By Naoki Higashida, Introduced by David Mitchell Translated by Keiko Mitchell, David C. Mitchell Publisher: Sceptre This is Naokis first book, written when he was 13 years old. I almost didn’t read this, thinking it might not have much relevance to me, being considerably older. I couldn’t…

Book Review of “Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8” By Naoki Higashida, Introduced by David Mitchell Translated by David Mitchel and K A Yoshida Publisher: Sceptre; Unabridged edition edition (11 July 2017) First of all I have to say “Wow”! I did not see that coming. Initially I felt that the forward was…

Dream’s Thoughts on “Autism and Asperger Syndrome in Adults” by Dr. Luke Beardon Published by Sheldon Press When Linda asked me if I could share my perspective, I happily agreed to review Luke’s latest book. Full disclosure: When I first heard Luke speak at Axia’s “Perspectives from the Spectrum” conference back in 2015, the…

“La cabina” The Telephone Box (1972) La cabina (original title) 35min | Short Comedy, Horror | TV Short 13 December 1972 ‘LA Cabina’ is a 1972 Spanish Dark Comedy and Horror film about a man who gets stuck in a Telephone Kiosk A Brand new Telephone Kiosk is made available with the Telephone Door left…

Book Review of “An Adult with an Autism Diagnosis” A Guide for the Newly Diagnosed by Gillan Drew Jessica Kingsley Publishers This book is interesting from the very beginning as Gillan gives a brief and honest summary of what his life was like pre-diagnosis. Sadly, his diagnosis left him with no follow up, no…

Book Review of “The Autistic Brain” – (Helping Different Kinds of Minds Succeed) By Dr. Temple Grandin & Richard Panek This book is a good combination of science and wisdom about living a good and productive life ‘on the spectrum’. When you get to chapters 2 and 3 you may feel you’re getting a…

Book Review of “In a Different Key” by John Donvan and Caren Zucker I really enjoyed this lengthy book which I would describe as complementary to ‘Neurotribes’ by Steve Silberman. It is very much a USA centred perspective although it has interesting things to say about the situation here in the UK. …

Book Review of “Body Language” How to Read Others, Detect Deceit, and Convey the Right Message by James Borg Published by Skyhorse Publishing To give some idea about the importance of body language in daily communication between neurotypicals there is the 55 38 7 rule: 55% of everyday communication is by body language,…

Book Review of “Pretending to be Normal: Living with Asperger’s Syndrome” (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) Expanded Edition by Liane Holliday Willey, Foreword by Tony Attwood Jessica Kingsley Publishers Whilst I had hoped to borrow this book from the PDSG, I am very pleased that I decided to buy it because I have found so much within…

Book Review of “Introducing Body Language” A Practical Guide by Glenn Wilson Publishers: Icon Books Ltd. Unfortunately I found this author’s approach to body language quite lightweight. On the positive side it is easy to read and on occasion quite funny. On the negative side there are many claims about body language which go unsubstantiated…