Many people did not know about the autism spectrum before their diagnosis and most people were given little information on autism when they received the diagnosis. The information they were given was about local support groups but many people had done their own research and reading. Here we look at the kind of information people found helpful and there is a list of recommendations in
Information and Resources.
Several people were very interested in autism and read widely on the topic. A few people were doing, or had completed, courses about autism through distance learning and found it a very interesting subject. Most people recommended internet forums because they are interactive and a good way of getting answers to questions. We have listed recommended websites in the resources section. Other people described how they enjoyed reading books or newspaper articles that they could relate to.
Some people were less positive about information on autism or talked about how they no longer read as much as they used to about autism. A few people felt that books were often written by people who did not understand autism, or that there was little information available to help people manage everyday life beyond school or college. As one man said;
“It’s all rubbish. It is all people who are academic and have never seen a person with Asperger’s in their lives so what’s the point?”
One woman thought a lot of the books were about people who were more severely disabled than her husband and so were less relevant.
