Older Autistic Adults: In Their Own Words: The Lost Generation - Softcover

Wake PhD, Wilma; Endlich, Eric; Lagos, Robert S.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1942197519 ISBN 13: 9781942197515

Publisher: Future Horizons, 2021

Synopsis

The first of its kind, Older Autistic Adults is the result of the authors' original research, which examines the data retrieved from a survey given to 150 older autistic adults worldwide. The insight into the lives and experiences of these individuals from a time before support groups, school-based interventions, and even the autism diagnosis is important and fascinating. Combined with a brief history of autism, an overview of The Nine Degrees of Autism by Wylie, Lawson, Beardon, in relation to older autistic adults, and personal stories from the survey's participants, this book is a must-read!

About this title

About the Authors

Wilma Wake, PhD has been a licensed clinical social worker for over 40 years She is also an ordained minister, now retired after 28 years of active ministry. She has an M.Div. and D.Min. in Feminist-Liberation Theology and has published four books on spirituality. Her first love is education and she has a Ph.D. in Social Foundations of Education. She has taught on many levels, including nine years as Associate Professor of Practical Theology at the Swedenborg School of Religion. In her mid sixties, she was diagnosed by is now a is co-facilitator. Her social work practice is devoted primarily to working with older autistic adults, neuro-diverse couples, and with autistic children and their families. She is committed to helping train other service providers to work with autistic adults. She is trained and certified as a neurodiverse couples’ therapist by AANE. [The Asperger/Autism Network]. She has a post-graduate certificate in Play-Family Therapy from the Family & Play Therapy Center of Philadelphia.

Eric Endlich, Ph.D., clinical psychologist and founder of Top College Consultants®, helps neurodiverse students worldwide transition to college and graduate school. Dr. Endlich is on the Learning Differences/Neurodiversity Committee of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), and was recently honored by IECA with a “Making a Difference” award for resources he provides such as an autism-friendly college list. He is also on the Clinical Advisory Board of the Asperger/Autism Network (AANE) and helped found AANE’s Neurodiverse Couples Institute. He is the co-admin for a Facebook group, Parents of College Bound Students with Learning Disabilities, ADHD and ASD, currently numbering over 600 members. Dr. Endlich has presented nationally at numerous events including the Harvard Medical School Continuing Education annual autism course, the Southern Maine Autism Conference and the CUNY Neurodiversity Conference. He has written articles for Autism Advocate Parenting Magazine, Different Brains, CollegeXpress and LINK for Counselors. He has taught undergraduate and graduate psychology courses at Boston College, Tufts University, Suffolk University and UMass/Boston. Dr. Endlich has been interviewed by media including WGBH Radio, Forbes, Business Insider, College Confidential and U.S. News & World Report. Lastly, he is an autism dad and an autistic adult.

Rob Lagos is a computer programmer analyst and statistician. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from UCLA majoring in chemistry and computer science. He has worked for many years as a programmer/analyst and developer for several institutions in the New England area including United Health Group, Health Dialog, and New England Research Institutes. He served as a statistical consultant for Dr. Ramona Dvorak at the Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School. He also tutored students from Harvard and Boston Universities in statistics, mathematics, and computer science. He has been the head facilitator for the Autistic Adults group that meets in Portland, Maine, for over 10 years. He has been a presenter and co-presenter of numerous talks and workshops dealing with autism, at Sweetser Training Institute, New Hampshire Mensa Regional Gathering, Asperger/Autism Network, and other institutes. He is a virtuoso classical pianist and has taught adult piano students.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

It was a gorgeous fall Saturday in Maine. I was on lunch break from the conference “Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome with Dr. Jed Baker and Eustacia Cutler,” a Future Horizons workshop in Portland, ME. My friend, Rob, and I were strolling along a road resplendent with golds, reds, and yellows. We talked about the speaker at our workshop, Eustacia Cutler, mother of Temple Grandin. “I’m learning so much from her stories of raising Temple,” I reflected. “Especially since Temple and I are the same age. Yet, she was diagnosed before 5, and I wasn’t until age 66 – just a couple years ago. I’m just starting to figure out who I am.” “It’s the story of our generation of autistics, isn’t it?” Rob mused. “Yes, and so little research has been done on our generation. How are others doing? How did their autism impact them growing up without a diagnosis?” In this book, we present what we learned from them.

Edition details

• Publisher: Future Horizons
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1942197519
• ISBN 13: 9781942197515
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 242