ASPoetry

Wendy Lawson is a mother of four, who was originally diagnosed as being intellectually disabled, then in her teens, as being schizophrenic, and finally in 1994, as having an autism spectrum disorder. She has been married, separated and divorced, has experienced the death of one of her teenage sons, gone through moving from one country to another, losing friends and status due to being openly gay, faced ill health and recently come to terms with the fact that she is aging! Her youngest son was diagnosed at the age of 12 as having Asperger's Syndrome. As a qualified counsellor, social worker and psychologist Wendy has operated her own private practice for many years. She is the author of five books, including Understanding and Working with the Spectrum of Autism, Build Your Own Life: A Self-help Guide for Individuals With Asperger's Syndrome and Sex, Sexuality and the Autism Spectrum, all published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

• Introduction. Childhood. 1. The Journey of Life. 2. Transition. 3. What is Play? 4. Please accept me. 5. What is time? 6. Lost. 7. Words. 8. What Do We Mean? 9. Space and Time. 10. Travelers 11. Change. 12. Moving Away. 13. Routine. Discovering Self. 14. So This Is Me! 15. Questions. 16. Wendy. 17. Becoming. 18. I Used To, But Now I… 19. My Body. 20. Care. 21. Indecision. 22. Autism Is. 23. So This Is Life. 24. Walking. 25. Relationships. 26. We are Walking Through a Valley. Adulthood. 27. Autism: My Gender. 28. Miracle. 29. The Group. 30. What Is Love? 31. Commitment. 32. Words 2. 33. Seasons. 34. My Love. 35. Time For. 36. I Know. 37. Easter 1992. 38. Tim. 39. Matt. 40. Mr Breeze. 41. The Quiet. 42. Sometimes. 43. Doubt. 44. Love. 45. Seasons 2. 46. Christmas 1993. 47. The Season of Advent in a Small Swiss Village. 48. Indecision. 49. Where is Wendy? 50. Today. 51. Empty Thoughts. 52. Ode To A Supervisor. 53. Torment. 54. What Is My Name? 55. Autism Is (Also). 56. Bob and Joan. Friendship. 57. For Emma. 58. Ayumi's Parting Song. 59. Feeling Safe. 60. Happy Birthday. 61. Attention Poem. 62. Doubly Drawn. 63. Wendy (take 2). 64. The Tree of Life. 65. Rain. 66. My Princess of The Deep. 67. Our Time. 68. Knowing You, Knowing Me. 69. The Last Supper. 70. The Future. Interests. 71. Of Interest. 72. Ode to the Blackbird. 73. Blue Tits. 74. The Pelican. 75. The Swan. 76. Flying High. 77. Clothing the Shadows.

In this collection Wendy Lawson has used the medium of poetry and short prose to express her emotions and responses to a variety of life experiences and challenges she has faced through her childhood, teenage and adult life. Through the simplicity and immediacy of her writing she is able to help the reader gain an insight and perhaps develop empathy with the perspective on life of an individual with Asperger's syndrome. Some of her poems are particularly moving and poignant while others are uplifting and full of joy. I particularly liked those that provided a fascinating insight into some of the ways that individuals with an ASD think and feel.I found this a delightful book that touches on a wide variety of life experiences and would anticipate that many others would also enjoy and benefit from reading and sharing.