I Dream in Autism by Richard Maguire – Review

“I Dream in Autism:”

Not everything in colour is black and white.

by Richard Maguire
Publisher: CreateSpace
Independent Publishing Platform (24 Mar. 2014)

I had the privilege of chairing the Adult Stream at the National Autistic Society’s Professionals Conference in which Richard was a speaker. The theme of his talk was “it’s never too late”. I also discovered that we had a shared love of the East End of London; Me having been born there and Richard now spending quite a bit of time working there. He described Eastenders as being quite Autistic friendly and many people describe us as being blunt and honest. He also explained that his recognition of his Autism came about when he started working with adults with Learning Disabilities and Autism and he was instantly able to relate, make sense of and empathise with them. This was back in the eighties and at that time he felt he could not out himself as being Autistic.

He was diagnosed as an adult and on face value people might think that his Autism doesn’t impact a great deal on him, however, it clearly did prior to him giving his talk where his sensory sensitivities meant he could not come in through the front of the building and also the lights within the building had to be kept down.

This book charts his history from being a very young child to date and he dedicates it to his wife and son.

“I am Autistic, try it my way. Read this book forward, backwards or in bit size chunks to see through the eyes of an “Aspie” as we are no affectionately called. Understanding my obsessive need to repeat intricate details through stories of being bullied, lost, loved and misunderstood”.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book and shall be bringing it to our monthly post-diagnostic support group on Wednesday 12 April 2017.