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| Image of the book 'Uniquely Human' with two children on cover, next to a red vase of flowers. |
Note: This review is completely unsolicited. You can find this book for purchase on Amazon.
I have a shocking confession to make. This is the first book about
Autism that I've ever read. I've had multiple 'actually autistic' books on my
list, but I hadn't gotten there yet. I'm not sure why, but I kept skating
around them for some unknown reason. I saw mention of Uniquely Human in a neurodiversity group online, and decided to get
a copy. I've been in a book hole for a while, and strangely unmotivated to
read. I pushed myself to get out of my reading funk by starting Dr. Prizant's
book. Within the first few pages, it absolutely drew me in. I sat and read half
of the book the very first day I started it. Tears came to my eyes multiple
times that day, and every time I have sat down to read it.
The incredible, standout thing about this book is the clear compassion
and respect that Dr. Prizant has for Autistic
individuals. He takes so many commonly vilified
Autistic behaviors and actually cares about explaining the root of the
behavior, and the needs behind it. Instead of focusing on simply changing a behavior, he wants people to
understand why an individual has the desire to do it in the first place. There
are many instances where Dr. Prizant links all humans together; both Autistic
and neurotypical. I think the title is a beautiful summary of how he feels; Autistic
people are just people with unique brains.
He talks about how so many of the needs Autistic individuals have are the same
needs anybody would have, they're just more intense.
Throughout the book, Dr. Prizant gives many real life examples of
Autistic individuals he has worked with and known. There is a wonderful variety
of examples in the book. Autism is a spectrum, and he did a fantastic job of
really showing how wide that spectrum can be. There are highlights of
individuals who continue to be mostly non-speaking and live with their parents
with some independence. There are also highlights of outwardly, very "successful"
adults who didn't realize they were even Autistic until they had their own
children diagnosed as Autistic! The book doesn't paint any of these examples as
better or worse. Each individual is celebrated for their own personal journey.
I was also very happy to see that Dr. Prizant does not use functioning
labels such as 'high functioning' or 'low functioning' and talks about how they
can actually do more damage than good. He stresses how each Autistic individual
is their own unique person on a spectrum, and it is never black and white.
Dr. Prizant did choose to use person first language when talking about
Autism in this book. But, he does acknowledge that many Autistic individuals
prefer the term 'Autistic person' versus 'person with Autism', and I respected
that he did not simply ignore that hot button debate item. I didn't entirely
agree with his viewpoint on stimming, which is a term he does not use. He
generally is on board with stim type behaviors, but he seems to care more about
society's viewpoint than I ever would. But, that's honestly such a minor
disagreement, and he does not come across as anti-stim by any stretch.
As a whole, I truly adored this book. It made me extremely emotional,
because I felt so much understanding and compassion coming from the words
within. Not only would I recommend this book to anybody who loves an Autistic
person, but anybody who wants to better understand humanity. He respectfully
addresses the fear that can often come with an Autism diagnosis, but he says emphatically
that there is no limit to what an Autistic person can achieve. This is the kind
of mindset that all people should have toward Autistic and otherwise
neurodiverse people.
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| Quote amended from “Uniquely Human” by Barry Prizant. |
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