Late Bloomer

There was a very, very long queue waiting for this book at the library -- lots of people keen to understand How an Autism Diagnosis Changed My Life. Late Bloomer by Melbourne writer Clem Bastow is a very personal account of her childhood and youth, and how being diagnosed with autism at the age of almost forty made sense of so much in her experience. Bastow was always a 'quirky' kid who was blessed with supportive and flexible parents who accommodated her preferences and never tried to shame her into behaving 'properly.' However, Bastow is critical of a school system that failed to follow up on her difficulties, which might have led to an earlier diagnosis and more help.

Interestingly, Bastow feel that the greatest benefit of diagnosis for her has been greater self-understanding -- oh, this habit is not because I'm weird or broken or a failure, it's because I'm Autistic. As the mother of a child who suspects themselves of Autism, but has struggled to see the point of an expensive diagnosis, I've found this a persuasive argument. Certainly some elements of Bastow's story struck a chord -- her insistence on eating the same meal every day, for example -- though there were also many aspects that didn't. Of course, as Bastow points out, if you've met one Autistic person, you've met one Autistic person: you can't generalise (Bastow prefers identity-first language rather than person-first).

Late Bloomer also raised some doubts in my mind about the benefits of very early intervention, which seems designed to train a young child out of their Autistic traits (like stimming) which are regarded as socially undesirable; apparently there are young Autistic people now expressing just how painful this process was for them. It was interesting to note that gender dysphoria is more common among Autistic people -- more research required.

Late Bloomer is a thoroughly engaging, often funny and sometimes disturbing story of one person's journey to identity.