Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'm a young woman on the autism spectrum and I strongly agree with the negative assessments of the current top reviews. The author believes that her own highly personal experiences as a woman on the spectrum are universal characteristics of "aspergirls", espouses unscientific and new-agey nonsense, and draws false boundaries between "masculine" and "feminine" autistic traits. There were parts of this book I identified with, mostly anecdotes smattered throughout, but as a whole I felt alienated. "Aspergirls" were described as being very naive and childlike thoughout, and while I definitely have a "silly switch" I've felt like a 35 year old since I was 15. I'm a sensitive person and tend to take people literally, but I'm also perfectly capable of accepting criticism as well as looking critically at other people and enforcing my own boundaries. One size does not fit all. The author fails to acknowledge that not everyone is straight, which felt ridiculous given that this was published in 2010 and there was an entire chapter on romantic relationships. Every single line references finding a man/husband/boyfriend (and yes, I am engaged to a woman). Also no indication that experiences of gender, including gender nonconformity, exist. Given the huge overlap between the autism and trangender communities this felt especially tone-deaf. This book seems to have been one of the earliest books on the experience of autistic women, which explains the high ratings, but I would absolutely pass on this one. The tone was totally different but as an alternative suggestion I adore Neurotribes for a deep, coherent, and sensitive exploration of autism.