Best Autism Books

I hope my recommendations of the best 180+ Autism books (and the most positives ones) will help reinforce many of the things I talk about in my articles.

I truly believe this is the most comprehensive, free list of good books about Autism available anywhere.

Over the years I have read an awful lot of books about Autism.  Honestly, most of them (many still popular today) are full of myths and stereotypes, so I have carefully selected the best books by Autistic people and allies of Autistic people that I recommend. 

These are my personal recommendations of books I have read and/or used for research purposes (if I haven’t read a book yet, even if multiple people have told me it’s a great book, then it won’t go on the list. I feel this the most honest and authentic way to keep this list up-to-date). So there’s bound to be books not on the list which you think should be! And this could simply be because I haven’t read that particular book yet (and I could have bought it, but it could be sitting in my ‘books to read’ pile – which is a VERY big pile!!). Leave your comment/email me with your suggestions (so I can add to my pile!).

Trust me, I’d love nothing more than dedicating all of my time to reading all of amazing autism related books which I know are out there, but unfortunately I don’t have the time. Maybe one day!

Some of the older books may use outdated terminology, but still have something useful to say.

This is a huge list (over 180 at the last count) and I don’t recommend you try to read all of the books! Look for the ones which are relevant to you and your experiences. And return as your experiences change and you need new advice and perspectives.

Despite it being a long list I hope it less daunting than typing ‘Autism Positive Books’ into Amazon or Google and seeing the pages of results (and I guarantee that they wouldn’t all be autism positive anyway!).

Some of the books are expensive as they are academic publications, but you can ask your library to order books for you.

In case you don’t want to look through the entire list of good books about Autism I have put a few of my Top 10 recommendations below.

I’ve given you my Top 10 Academic Books About Autism and my Top 10 Non-Academic Books About Autism, which I hope are a good place for you to start your reading.

And, if you need more recommendations, you can then come back to my full list of 180+ good books about Autism (which you’ll find further down this article).

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TOP 10 ACADEMIC BOOKS ABOUT AUTISM

These are my top 10 recommendations for academic books about Autism (listed A-Z by Author)

1. The Autism Industrial Complex: How Branding, Marketing, and Capital Investment Turned Autism into Big Business – Alicia Broderick
2. Understanding and Evaluating Autism Theory – Nick Chown
3. A Mismatch of Salience: Explorations of the Nature of Autism from Theory to Practice – Damian Milton
4. Critical Autism Studies – Damian Milton, Sara Ryan
5. Neurodiversity Reader: Exploring Concepts, Lived Experience and Implications for Practice – Damian Milton
6. Autistic Masking: Understanding Identity Management and the Role of Stigma – Kieran Rose, Dr Amy Pearson
7. Neurodiversity Studies: A New Critical Paradigm – Hanna Rosqvist, Nick Chown, Anna Stenning
8. NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and How to Think Smarter About People Who Think Differently – Steve Silberman
9. Neuroqueer Heresies: Notes on the Neurodiversity Paradigm, Autistic Empowerment, and Postnormal Possibilities – Nick Walker
10. Authoring Autism – M. Remi Yergeau

You can read descriptions about each of these books in my article; Top 10 Academic Books About Autism

TOP 10 NON-ACADEMIC BOOKS ABOUT AUTISM

These are my top 10 recommendations for non-academic books about Autism (listed A-Z by Author)

1. I Will Die on This Hill – Meghan Ashburn, Jules Edwards (Kieran is featured in this book)
2. Sincerely, Your Autistic Child: What People on the Autism Spectrum Wish Their Parents Knew About Growing Up, Acceptance, and Identity – Emily Paige Ballou
3. Loud Hands – Julia Bascomb
4. Dr Luke Beardon – any (and all!) of his books
5. Queerly Autistic: The Ultimate Guide For LGBTQIA+Teens On The Spectrum – Erin Ekins
6. We’re Not Broken: Changing The Autism Conversation – Eric Garcia
7. The New Normal: Autistic musings on the threat of a broken society – David Gray-Hammond
8. Leaders Around Me: Autobiographies of Autistics who Type, Point, and Spell to Communicate – Edlyn Pena
9. Our Autistic Lives: Personal Accounts from Autistic Adults Around the World Aged 20 to 70+ – Alex Ratcliffe (Kieran is featured in this book – under the pseudonym Skywalker)
10. Untypical: How the world isn’t built for autistic people and what we should all do about it – Pete Wharmby

You can read descriptions about each book in my article; Top 10 Non-Academic Books About Autism

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4 WAYS TO BROWSE MY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR 180+ AUTISM POSITIVE BOOKS

It isn’t easy to create, curate and maintain an online list of around nearly 200 (and always growin!g) books.

When I began this blog post years ago it was one very, very, very long list of good books about Autism, along with their Amazon links, but it wasn’t very user friendly (the exact opposite of what I wanted!).

So, I’ve have created 4 ways to help you browse my recommended autism books.

One of the ways is a low-cost ebook and the other three ways are free to access;

1. The full list is inside contained inside this article (scroll further down) and is free to browse (this list doesn’t contain links to buy the books)
2. My Recommended Autism Books ebook ‘catalogue’ which is such a valuable, and low-cost, resource and one of my BEST SELLERS. It contains book descriptions, categories, links to buy, all future updates and all in a beautifully designed layout.
3. My Amazon store – a familiar layout and free to browse
4. My Bookshop store – which supports independent book shops (yay!) and free to browse

If you’re visiting this blog from outside of the UK you might wish to find the book on your local Amazon or your equivalent to Bookshop.org.

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RECOMMENDED AUTISM POSITIVE BOOKS: EBOOK/CATALOGUE -$7.50/£5.50/€6,50

My catalogue/ebook contains 180+ books and makes for a really nice way to browse them all. You can click the image or this link to find out more.

You receive the catalogue as a full colour, beautifully designed ebook which you can save to any device to read and/or print.

The catalogue has images for each book, a full description and useful categories so you can see what each book is about.

There are also useful links for each book directly to Amazon UK and my Bookshop store so you can easily purchase a book you want. You also receive an ‘at a glance’ spreadsheet which lists all of the books in a much simpler format.

I aim to keep the catalgue fully up-to-date (so far it has had 10 updates) and once you purchase you get all future versions FOR FREE.

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MY AMAZON STORE

VISIT MY AMAZON STORE: I recieve a small commission for any purchases you make via Amazon (but you pay no more).

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MY BOOKSHOP STORE

CLICK TO VISIT THE AUTISTIC ADVOCATE’S BOOKSHOP STORE: I recieve a small commission for any purchases you make via BookShop (but you pay no more).

What I also love about Bookshop is that your books are sourced from independent UK bookshops and the shop owners get a much better profit split than from Amazon. As an avid reader with hundreds of books, who loves an independent book shop, this makes me happy.

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MY BOOK: ‘Autism: A Collection of Essays’

My book contains 17 of my most read essays from 2017 to 2025. It includes a new introduction, preface and a Foreword from Dr Amy Pearson. Find out more here; Autism: A Collection of Essays.

MY BOOK: ‘AUTISTIC MASKING – Understanding Identity Management and the Role of Stigma’ with Dr Amy Pearson

In a list of the books I recommend about Autism I have to recommend my own (please forgive me!). I wrote the book with Dr Amy Pearson and we poured our hearts into it. Our book has its own dedicated page: Autism Masking Book

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THE FULL LIST OF RECOMMENDED AUTISM BOOKS: A-Z BY AUTHOR

This is a very long list of book names and author titles. For a much more visual list which you can save and download/print (complete with book cover images, book descriptions etc) I recommend my Recommended Autism Positive Books catalogue.

AUTHOR: A

Ackerman Willis, Mary Lynn & Ackerman, Mikhaela. The Edge of The Playground: Two Stories one Journey: A Mother and Daughter’s Memoir of Autism From Childhood to Adulthood
Adams, Noah. Trans and Autistic: Stories from Life at the Intersection
Allen Omeiza, Kala. Autistic and Black: Our Experiences of Growth, Progress and Empowerment
Ashburn, Meghan and Edwards, Jules. I Will Die On This Hill: Autistic Adults, Autism Parents, and the Children Who Deserve a Better World
Autistic Self Advocacy Network. Knowing Why: Adult-Diagnosed Autistic People on Life and Autism

AUTHOR: B

Ballou, Emily Paige. Sincerely, Your Autistic Child: What People on the Autism Spectrum Wish Their Parents Knew About Growing Up, Acceptance, and Identity
Ballou, Emily Paige. What Every Autistic Girl Wishes Her Parents Knew
Bargiela, Dr Sarah. Camouflage: The Hidden Lives of Autistic Women
Bascom, Julia. The Obsessive Joy of Autism
Bascom, Julia (edited by). Loud Hands: Autistic People, Speaking
Beardon, Dr Luke. Autism and Asperger Syndrome in Childhood: For parents and carers of the newly diagnosed (Overcoming Common Problems)
Beardon, Dr Luke. Autism in Adults
Beardon, Dr Luke. Autism in Childhood: For parents and carers of the newly diagnosed
Beardon, Dr Luke. Avoiding Anxiety in Autistic Adults: A Guide for Autistic Wellbeing
Beardon, Dr Luke. Avoiding Anxiety in Autistic Children: A Guide for Autistic Wellbeing
Beardon, Dr Luke. Bittersweet on the Autism Spectrum
Beardon, Dr Luke. Love, Partnership, or Singleton on the Autism Spectrum (Insider Intelligence)
Beardon, Dr Luke. Reasonable Adjustments: How to Make a Better World for Autistic People
Beardon, Dr Luke. What Works for Autistic Adults
Beardon, Dr Luke. What Works for Autistic Children
Bennett, Gabriel; Goodall, Emma. Autistic People With Co-occurring Psychological Conditions: Prevalence and Perspectives From Autistics, Their Families, and Professionals
Bennett, Matthew; Goodall, Emma; Nugent, Jane. Choosing Effective Support for People on the Autism Spectrum: A Guide Based on Academic Perspectives and Lived Experience
Boon, Sarah. Young, Autistic and ADHD: Moving into adulthood when you’re multiply neurodivergent
Booth, Janine. Autism Equality in the Workplace: Removing Barriers and Challenging Discrimination
Brenner, Leon S. The Autistic Subject: On the Threshold of Language
Brick, Martin. Autistic-Coded Representation and Autism Stereotypes: Looking for the Spectrum
Broderick, Alicia A. The Autism Industrial Complex: How Branding, Marketing, and Capital Investment Turned Autism into Big Business
Brown, Lydia A (edited by). All the Weight of Our Dreams: On Living Racialized Autism (no longer published)
Brunton, Jessica and Gensic, Jenna. The #ActuallyAutistic Guide to Building Independence: A Handbook for Teens, Young Adults, and Those Who Care About Them
Byde Myers, Jennifer. Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism: Everything You Need to Know from Autistics, Parents, and Professionals: Volume 1

AUTHOR: C

Cascio, M. Ariel & Racine, Eric. Research Involving Participants with Cognitive Disability and Differences: Ethics, Autonomy, Inclusion, and Innovation
Chapman, Robert. Empire of Normality: Neurodiversity and Capitalism
Chown, Nick. Understanding and Evaluating Autism Theory
Clarke, Jodie. The Secret Life of Rose
Clarke, Jodie. Stop the World I Want to Get Off: A guide to understanding and supporting the recovery of autistic burnout in children and young
Cockain, Alex. Learning Disability and Everyday Life (Routledge Advances in Disability Studies)
Conn, Carmel. Autism, Pedagogy and Education: Critical Issues for Value-based Teaching
Conn, Carmel. Play and Friendship in Inclusive Autism Education: Supporting learning and development
Cook, Barb and Garnett, Michelle. Spectrum Women: Walking to the Beat of Autism

AUTHOR: D

Dale, Laura. Kate Uncomfortable Labels: My Life as a Gay Autistic Trans Woman
Davis, Lennard J. The Disability Studies Reader
Davis Rachael and O’Neil Claire and Fletcher-Watson Sue: It Takes All Kinds Of Minds Deer, Brian. The Doctor Who Fooled the World: Andrew Wakefield’s war on vaccines
Duffus, Rebecca. Autism, Identity and Me: A Professional and Parent Guide to Support a Positive Understanding of Autistic Identity
Dunn, Yo. Social Work with Autistic People: Essential Knowledge, Skills and the Law for Working with Children and Adults

AUTHOR: E

Ekins, Erin. Queerly Autistic: The Ultimate Guide For LGBTQIA+ Teens On The Spectrum
Elley, Debby and Morewood, Gareth D. Championing Your Autistic Teen at Secondary School: Getting the Best from Mainstream Settings
Elliott, Mair. From Hurt to Hope: Stories of mental health, mental illness and being autistic
Elphinstone, Katy. How to Raise Happy Neurofabulous Children: A Parents’ Guide
Evans, Bonnie. The metamorphosis of autism: A history of child development in Britain: 2 (Social Histories of Medicine)

AUTHOR: F

Fein, Elizabeth. Autism in Translation
Fricker, Eliza. Can’t Not Won’t: A Story About A Child Who Couldn’t Go To School
Fricker, Eliza. The Family Experience of PDA: An Illustrated Guide to Pathological Demand Avoidance
Fricker, Eliza. Thumbsucker: An illustrated journey through an undiagnosed autistic childhood
Fulton, Dr Rorie. Sensory Trauma: AUTISM, SENSORY DIFFERENCE AND THE DAILY EXPERIENCE OF FEAR (Autism Wellbeing Book 1)

AUTHOR: G

Garcia, Eric. We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation
Garvey, Niamh. Being Autistic (And What That Actually Means)
Garvey, Niamh. Looking After Your Autistic Self: A Personalised Self-Care Approach to Managing Your Sensory and Emotional Well-Being
Gates, Gordon. Trauma, Stigma, and Autism: Developing Resilience and Loosening the Grip of Shame
Gaynor, Zanne. IS THAT CLEAR?: Effective communication in a neurodiverse world
Gerber, Benjine. Emotional Regulation: Theory and practice
Gibbs, Sarah. Drama Queen: One Autistic Woman and a Life of Unhelpful Labels
Ginsberg, Jessie. Ready, Set, Connect: A Sensory Based Approach To Accelerate Communication in Autistic Children
Goodall, Craig. Understanding the Voices and Educational Experiences of Autistic Young People: From Research to Practice (Routledge Research in Special Educational Needs)
Goodall, Dr Emma. Understanding and Facilitating the Achievement of Autistic Potential
Goodall, Dr Emma & Purkiss, Yenn. Women on the Spectrum: A Handbook for Life
Goodall, Dr Emma, Bennett, Matthew & Nugent, Jane. Choosing Effective Support for People on the Autism Spectrum: A Guide Based on Academic Perspectives and Lived Experience
Goodall, Dr Emma, Jeanette Purkis, Jane Nugent. The Guide to Good Mental Health on the Autism Spectrum
Goodall, Emma. The Autism Spectrum Guide to Sexuality and Relationships: Understand Yourself and Make Choices that are Right for You
Goodall, Emma & Brownlow, Charlotte. Interoception and Regulation: Teaching Skills of Body Awareness and Supporting Connection with Others
Grace, Joanna. The Subtle Spectrum: An Honest Account of Autistic Discovery, Relationships and Identity
Grace, Joanne. The Scale of the Spectrum
Gratton, Finn V. Supporting Transgender Autistic Youth and Adults: A Guide for Professionals and Families
Gray-Hammond, David. The New Normal: Autistic musings on the threat of a broken society
Gray-Hammond, David. Unusual Medicine: Essays on Autistic identity and drug addiction
Greene, Ross. Raising Human Beings: Creating a Collaborative Partnership with Your Child
Greene, Ross. The Explosive Child [Sixth Edition]: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children

AUTHOR: H

Hartman, Davida; O’Donnell-Killen, Tara; Doyle, Jessica K; Kavanagh, Dr Maeve; Day, Dr Anna; Azevedo, Dr Juliana. The Adult Autism Assessment Handbook: A Neurodiversity Affirmative Approach
Harvey, Dr Catherine. Difference Not Disorder: Understanding Autism Theory in Practice
Hayden, Chloe. Different, Not Less: A neurodivergent’s guide to embracing your true self and finding your happily ever after
Higashida, Naoki. Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight: A young man’s voice from the silence of autism
Higashida, Naoki. The Reason I Jump: one boy’s voice from the silence of autism
Holliday Willey, Liane. Pretending to be Normal: Living with Asperger’s Syndrome (Autism Spectrum Disorder)
Huxley-Jones, Lizzie. Stim: An Autistic Anthology

RECOMMENDED AUTISM POSITIVE BOOKS: EBOOK/CATALOGUE -$7.50/£5.50/€6,50

Phew! What a list – and you’ve only just gone past ‘H’!

I’ve been adding to the list for years now and it will continue to grow. If you’d like a much more useful version of the list (i.e. not just one on your computer or phone screen) then I’d recommend my ebook/catalogue version of the list. It’s a really low-cost, but massively useful resource.

My catalogue/ebook contains 180+ books and makes for a really nice way to browse them all. You can click the image or this link to find out more.

You receive the catalogue as a full colour, beautifully designed ebook which you can save to any device to read and/or print.

The catalogue has images for each book, a full description and useful categories so you can see what each book is about.

There are also useful links for each book directly to Amazon UK and my Bookshop store so you can easily purchase a book you want. You also receive an ‘at a glance’ spreadsheet which lists all of the books in a much simpler format.

I aim to keep the catalgue fully up-to-date (so far it has had 10 updates) and once you purchase you get all future versions FOR FREE.

AUTHOR: I

Izzo, Margo; Horne, LeDerick. Empowering Students with Hidden Disabilities: A Path to Pride and Success

AUTHOR: J

Jack, Jordynn. Autism and Gender: From Refrigerator Mothers to Computer Geeks
James, Laura. Odd Girl Out: An Autistic Woman in a Neurotypical World
Jones, Carly. Safeguarding Autistic Girls: Strategies for Professionals
Jones, Sparrow Rose. The ABCs of Autism Acceptance
Jones, Steph. The Autistic Survival Guide to Therapy
Jyothi, Padma. Talking Fingers: Voices Of Indian Non-Speaking Autistics

AUTHOR: K

Kapp, Steven. Autistic Community and the Neurodiversity Movement: Stories from the Frontline
Kara, Helen. Research ethics in the real world: Euro-Western and Indigenous perspectives
Katy, Emily. Girl Unmasked: How Uncovering My Autism Saved My Life
Kim, Cynthia. I Think I Might Be Autistic: A Guide to Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis and Self-Discovery for Adults
Kim, Cynthia. Nerdy, Shy, and Socially Inappropriate: A User Guide to an Asperger Life
Kohn, Alfie. Feel-Bad Education: And Other Contrarian Essays on Children and Schooling
Kohn, Alfie. Punished By Rewards: Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Edition: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise, and Other Bribes
Kohn, Alfie. The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing
Kohn, Alfie. The Myth of the Spoiled Child: Coddled Kids, Helicopter Parents, and Other Phony Crises
Kohn, Alfie. Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason
Kotowicz, Annie. What I Mean When I Say I’m Autistic: Unpuzzling a Life on the Autism Spectrum
Kourti, Mariantha. Working with Autistic Transgender and Non-Binary People: Research, Practice and Experience
Kurchak, Sarah. I Overcame My Autism and All I Got Was This Lousy Anxiety Disorder: A Memoir

AUTHOR: L

Lagos, Robert S. & Endic, Eric & Wake, Wilma. Older Autistic Adults, In Their Own Words: In Their Own Words: The Lost Generation
Laurent, Amy & Fede, Jacquelyn H. (Autism Level Up!). ENERGY: The Framework, Tools, Strategies & Logic to Support Regulation
Lawson, Wendy. The Passionate Mind: How People with Autism Learn
Lebenhagen, Chandra. Autism and Inclusive Education: A Guide for Teachers, Practitioners and Parents
Limburg, Joanne. Letters To My Weird Sisters: On Autism, Feminism and Motherhood
Limburg, Joanne. The Autistic Alice
Liu, Grace. Approaching Autistic Adulthood: The Road Less Travelled
Lovegrove, Emily. Autism, Bullying and Me: The Really Useful Stuff You Need to Know About Coping Brilliantly with Bullying

AUTHOR: M

MacGuire, Anne. War on Autism: On the Cultural Logic of Normative Violence (Corporealities: Discourses of Disability)
Manning, Erin. The Minor Gesture (Thought in the Act)
Martin, Vicky and the Students of Limpfields Grange School. M in the Middle: Secret Crushes, Mega-Colossal Anxiety and the People’s Republic of Autism
May, Katherine. The Electricity of Every Living Thing: A Woman’s Walk in the Wild to Find Her Way Home
Maynard, Douglas W. Autistic Intelligence: Interaction, Individuality, and the Challenges of Diagnosis
McCarthy, Sharon & Connolly, Micaela & McCarthy, Caolan. Making Space for Autism: Strategies for Assessing and Modifying Environments to Meet the Needs of Autistic People
McGrath, Dr James. Naming Adult Autism: Culture, Science, Identity
McNulty, Dara. Diary of a Young Naturalist
Mendes, Eva A. Armchair Conversations on Love and Autism: Secrets of Happy Neurodiverse Couples
Mendes, Eva A., Maroney, Meredith R. Gender Identity, Sexuality and Autism: Voices from Across the Spectrum
Milton, Dr Damian. A Mismatch of Salience: Explorations of the Nature of Autism from Theory to Practice
Milton, Dr Damian. Ten Rules for Ensuring Miscommunication When Working With Autistic People and People with Learning Disabilities: …and Maybe What to Do About it
Milton, Dr Damian. The Neurodiversity Reader: Exploring Concepts, Lived Experience and Implications for Practice
Milton, Dr Damian. The Routledge International Handbook of Critical Autism Studies (Routledge International Handbooks)
Mol, Jorik. Feeling Fast and Slow: How autistic people feel far too much and far too little, all at the same time
Morgan, Fran & Costello, Ellie. Square Pegs: Inclusivity, compassion and fitting in – a guide for schools
Morgan, Hayley; Durman, Emma and Henry, Karen. Supporting Autistic People Through Pregnancy and Childbirth
Msumba, Jennifer. Shouting at Leaves
Murphy, Kerry. A Guide to SEND in the Early Years: Supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities
Murray, Stuart. Representing Autism: Culture, Narrative, Fascination

AUTHOR: N

Nerenberg, Jenara. Divergent Mind: Thriving in a World That Wasn’t Designed for You

AUTHOR: O

O’Brien, Sarah. So, I’m Autistic: An Introduction to Autism for Young Adults and Late Teens
O’Neill, Claire. The Strengths-Based Guide to Supporting Autistic Children: A Positive Psychology Approach to Parenting
Omeiza, Kala Allen. Afrotistic

AUTHOR: P

Packham, Chris. Fingers in the Sparkle Jar: A Memoir
Paige, Emily. What Every Autistic Girl Wishes Her Parents Knew
Pang, Camilla. Explaining Humans
Pang, Camilla. Growing Up Autistic and Happy: A Perfectly Weird Guide to Being Perfectly You
Pena, Edlyn. Communication Alternatives in Autism: Perspectives on Typing and Spelling Approaches for the Nonspeaking
Pena, Edlyn. Leaders Around Me: Autobiographies of Autistics who Type, Point, and Spell to Communicate
Perepa, Dr Prithvi. Autism, Ethnicity and Culture: Working with Children and Families from Minority Communities
Poe, Charlotte Amelia. How to Be Autistic
Price, Dr Devon. Unmasking Autism: The Power of Embracing Our Hidden Neurodiversity
Purkiss, Yen & Goodall, Emma. The Parents’ Practical Guide to Resilience for Preteens and Teenagers on the Autism Spectrum
Purkiss, Yen & Lawson, Wenn. The Autistic Trans Guide to Life
Purkiss, Yenn. The Awesome Autistic Go-To Guide: A Practical Handbook for Autistic Teens and Tweens
Purkiss, Yenn & Masterman, Tanya. The Awesome Autistic Guide to Being Proud: Feeling Good About Who You Are
Purkiss, Yenn & Masterman, Tanya. The Awesome Autistic Guide to Feelings and Emotions: Finding Your Comfort Zone
Purkiss, Yenn & Masterman, Tanya. The Awesome Autistic Guide to Other Humans: Relationships with Friends and Family

AUTHOR: Q

Quinn, Alexis. Unbroken: Learning to Live Beyond an Autism Diagnosis
Quinn, Lisa; Sando, Julie; Peña, Dr. Edlyn. Breaking Barriers for Nonspeaking Autistic Students: A Toolkit to Enhance Communication in Learning Environments

AUTHOR: R

Ratcliffe, Alex. Our Autistic Lives: Personal Accounts from Autistic Adults Around the World Aged 20 to 70+
Rippon, Gina. The Gendered Brain: The new neuroscience that shatters the myth of the female brain
Rivera, Lyric. Workplace NeuroDiversity Rising
Robinson, Sir Ken; Aronica, Lou. Creative Schools: Revolutionizing Education from the Ground Up
Rodas, Julia Miele. Autistic Disturbances: Theorizing Autism Poetics from the DSM to Robinson Crusoe (Corporealities: Discourses Of Disability)
Rodgers, Jodi. How to Find a Four-Leaf Clover: What Autism Can Teach Us About Difference, Connection and Belonging
Rose, Kieran and Pearson, Dr Amy. Autistic Masking: Understanding Identity Management and the Role of Stigma
Rosqvist, Hanna. Neurodiversity Studies: A New Critical Paradigm (Routledge Advances in Sociology)
Runswick-Cole, K. Re-Thinking Autism: Diagnosis, Identity and Equality
Ryan, Sara. Love, Learning, Disabilities and Pockets of Brilliance

AUTHOR: S

Savarese, Ralph James. See It Feelingly: Classic Novels, Autistic Readers, and the Schooling of a No-Good English Professor (Thought in the Act)
Sedgewick, Felicity. Understanding Autistic Relationships Across the Lifespan: Family, Friends, Lovers and Others
Silberman, Steve. NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and How to Think Smarter About People Who Think Differently
Smale, Holly. Geek Girl
Smale, Holly. The Cassandra Complex
Sparrow, Maxfield. Spectrums: Autistic Transgender People in Their Own Words
Stenning, Anna. Narrating the Many Autisms: Identity, Agency, Mattering (The Routledge Series Integrating Science and Culture)
Steward, Robyn. The Autism Friendly Guide to Periods
Stock Kranowitz, Carol. The Out-of-Sync Child: Recognizing and Coping with Sensory Processing Disorder
Sutton, Michelle. The Real Experts: Readings for Parents of Autistic Children
Sykes, Melanie. Illuminated: Autism & All The Things I’ve left Unsaid

AUTHOR: T

Tchanturia, Kate. Supporting Autistic People with Eating Disorders: A Guide to Adapting Treatment and Supporting Recovery
Toeps, Bianca. But you don’t look autistic at all
Toeps, Bianca. This autistic girl went to Japan: And you won’t believe what happened next

AUTHOR: U

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AUTHOR: V

Voss, Angie. Understanding Your Child’s Sensory Signals: A Practical Daily Use Handbook for Parents and Teachers

AUTHOR: W

Walker, Nick. Neuroqueer Heresies: Notes on the Neurodiversity Paradigm, Autistic Empowerment, and Postnormal Possibilities
Waltz, Mitzi. Autism: A Social and Medical History
Wharmby, Pete. Untypical: How the world isn’t built for autistic people and what we should all do about it
Wharmby, Pete. What I Want to Talk About: How Autistic Special Interests Shape a Life
Whelton, Evaleen. Standing Up for Myself: An empowering book for Neurodivergent kids and teens about boundaries, sensitivity, personal space, consent, power play and self advocacy
Whiting, Victoria Ellen; Whiting Liam & Arts, Emi. The Autistic Guide to Puberty: A Practical Survival Handbook
Wilkins, Lydia. The Autism Friendly Cook Book
Williams, Donna. Autism: An Inside-Out Approach: An Innovative Look at the ‘Mechanics’ of ‘Autism’ and its Developmental ‘Cousins’
Williams, Donna. Nobody Nowhere: The Remarkable Autobiography of an Autistic Girl
Williams, Donna. Somebody Somewhere: Breaking Free from the World of Autism
Wilson, Shawn. Research Is Ceremony: Indigenous Research Methods
Wise, Sonny Jane. The Neurodivergent Friendly Workbook of DBT Skills
Wood, Dr Rebecca. Inclusive Education for Autistic Children: Helping Children and Young People to Learn and Flourish in the Classroom
Wood, Dr Rebecca. Learning From Autistic Teachers: How to Be a Neurodiversity-Inclusive School
Wylie, Philip. The Nine Degrees of Autism: A Developmental Model for the Alignment and Reconciliation of Hidden Neurological Conditions

AUTHOR: X

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AUTHOR: Y

Yellow Ladybugs. Supporting Autistic Girls & Gender Diverse Youth
Yergeau, Melanie. Authoring Autism: On Rhetoric and Neurological Queerness (Thought in the Act)

AUTHOR: Z

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RECOMMENDED AUTISM POSITIVE BOOKS: EBOOK/CATALOGUE: $7.50/£5.50/€6,50

Phew! What a list!

I’ve been adding to the list for years now and it will continue to grow. If you’d like a much more useful version of the list (i.e. not just one on your computer or phone screen) then I’d recommend my ebook/catalogue version of the list. It’s a really low-cost, but massively useful resource.

My catalogue/ebook contains 180+ books and makes for a really nice way to browse them all. You can click the image or this link to find out more.

You receive the catalogue as a full colour, beautifully designed ebook which you can save to any device to read and/or print.

The catalogue has images for each book, a full description and useful categories so you can see what each book is about.

There are also useful links for each book directly to Amazon UK and my Bookshop store so you can easily purchase a book you want. You also receive an ‘at a glance’ spreadsheet which lists all of the books in a much simpler format.

I aim to keep the catalgue fully up-to-date (so far it has had 10 updates) and once you purchase you get all future versions FOR FREE.

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How do I choose the books for my recommended autism books list?

I will only add books to the list once I’ve had read them and/or used them for reasearch purposes.

I do gets lots of requests from authors to add their books to this list and often I’ve already bought their book but have yet to read it. A book won’t be added until I’ve read/used it. Please be kind if you’re an author and find yourself in this position; I’ve got limited time to read and this list has been literally years in the making!

Sometimes a book in on the list before it has been published and that is usually because I’ve received a pre-publication copy.

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AND OTHER BOOK LISTS ABOUT AUTISM

We also recommend the comprehensive book lists from Meghan Ashburn at Not An Autism Mom. Meghan’s lists cover areas my lists don’t and are often particularly relevant for parents and educators of Autistic children and covers many more books for children to read and/or have read to them.

Whilst NeuroBears isn’t a book (or a book list!) it’s hugely accessible short course for Autistic kids and their parents and we wanted to recommend it here alongside the other resources.

I also highly recommend the essay “”…these thousands of little witnesses…” by Julia Lee Barclay Morton on her ‘Songs for the Unadapted Ones’ Substack. Many of the books which have guided and supported me over the years have done the same for Julia and Julia has woven such a beautiful story of her journey through these books that I highly recommend reading it. It is a lyrical, emotive and beautiful piece of writing.

I also have a list of Autism Affirming Books I’ve featured in/contributed to.

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My Autism FAQs page is a good place to start if you’re new to my work and want to explore more. Thanks for your support, Kieran.

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And, as a thank you for joining, you’ll get a 10% off code emailed to you which you can use on Kieran’s on-demand autism training and ebooks (including his flagship training The Inside of Autism).

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Training and ebooks from Kieran

I have a full range of autism training and ebooks on my website; starting from just a few dollars and all priced to be affordable.

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Got more questions about Autism?

If reading this article has given you more questions then my Autism FAQs is a great place to point you in the right direct to get answers (and most of where I direct you is to free-to-access resources!).