If you have ever removed a shoe in public because of a sock seam, rehearsed a phone call on paper and then been derailed by the word "hello," or replied to a forty-seven-message group chat entirely inside your own head — this book already knows.

Most books about autism are written about autistic people. They explain, they assess, they gently suggest you try harder at eye contact. This one doesn't. It's a hundred and four small moments of recognition, told from the inside, with a great deal of affection and no interest whatsoever in fixing you.

The Autistic Guide to Not Being Available Today is a browsable gift book — one observation per page, each with its own simple line drawing — that you can open anywhere and hand to someone across the room saying "this. This is what I meant."

Inside, you'll find:

104 illustrated one-page entries, grouped into seven themed sections
The sensory truths nobody warns you about — sock seams, fridge hum, the tag that had to go
Masking and the social hangover, including what it actually costs to seem fine
Special interests, info-dumps, and the joy of caring about one thing far too much
Routines, plans, and the specific grief of a plan being changed
Language, literalism, and the exact reason "we should get coffee sometime" ruined four years
Quiet, warm pages amongst the jokes, for the parts that aren't a punchline

Who it's for: autistic adults who can laugh at their own wiring, people who suspect they might be autistic and haven't said it out loud yet, and anyone buying for an autistic friend, partner, sibling or grown-up child who would rather be laughed with than explained to. No diagnosis required, and no diagnosis assumed.

It makes a genuinely good gift — small enough to wrap, funny enough to open in front of people, and honest enough to be worth keeping.

Scroll up and get your copy — or, better, get one for the person you were already thinking of.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Store Description

We first started out as ?The Paperback Exchange,? a chain of physical bookstores where we would part exchange your beloved books for new stories to transport you to faraway places. However, as shopping started to evolve to online shops and marketplaces, we bid our stores goodbye to become ?PBShop.? This transition has only allowed us to blossom as we now ship thousands of titles to book lovers across the globe. We pride ourselves in being a community of local book lovers which allows our passion and devotion to shine in everything we do. In 2020 we not only celebrated our 20th birthday but our 1st birthday as being completely employee owned after becoming an E.O.T in September 2019. We are proud to be different and embrace standing apart on a book mountain by working from a virtual inventory which allows us to provide thousands of books that may be difficult to get for your bookshelf or your studies. Working with a number of different suppliers allows us to explore other avenues such as puzzles, sheet music and even stationery so we really do have something for everyone. Life is about being versatile in all realms of existence. If this is your first visit or you are a returning customer, we would like to welcome you to the PBShop family, for there is no friend as loyal as a book. We are a company who put our customers at the centre of everything we do as we understand the importance of reading because once you learn to read, you will forever be free. There are a whole lot of things in this world of ours that we are yet to explore, which is why we will forever inspire curious minds.

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Pbshop.co.uk Ltd
Unit 22 Horcott Industrial Estate, Horcott Road, Fairford, GL7 4BX, United Kingdom

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Terms of Sale

Returns Policy
We ask all customers to contact us for authorisation should they wish to return their order. Orders returned without authorisation may not be credited.
If you wish to return, please contact us within 14 days of receiving your order to obtain authorisation.

Returns requested beyond this time will not be authorised.

Our team will provide full instructions on how to return your order and once received our returns department will process your refund.
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Books are shipped from UK warehouse. Delivery thereafter is between 4 and 14 business days dependant upon your location - please do contact us with any queries you may have.

Shipping rates within U.S.A.

Shipping rates within U.S.A.
Order quantity	7 to 14 business days	7 to 14 business days
First item	US$ 0.00	US$ 0.00

Delivery times are set by sellers and vary by carrier and location. Orders passing through Customs may face delays and buyers are responsible for any associated duties or fees. Sellers may contact you regarding additional charges to cover any increased costs to ship your items.