Women Autism Spectrum

Misunderstood your whole life, ashamed, lost, lonely and struggling to cope? Exhausted from trying, but never quite managing, to fit in? Welcome to the Late Discovered Club, home to thousands of late discovered autistic women. Late discovery can be life-changing—a lifetime of mysteries finally making sense. But there can also be a deep accompanying sense of grief. This is a book about coming home to yourself.

In the early 1960s, Massachusetts writer and homemaker Clara Park and her husband took their three-year-old daughter, Jessy, to a specialist after noticing that she avoided connection with others. Following the conventional wisdom of the time, the psychiatrist diagnosed Jessy with autism and blamed Clara for Jessy’s isolation. Experts claimed Clara was the prototypical “refrigerator mother,” a cold, intellectual parent who starved her children of the natural affection they needed to develop properly.

Em Rusciano has some stories to tell! In the space of a few short years, she quit breakfast radio, birthed her third child and staged a sold-out tour across the country – all before being hurled headfirst into the existential crisis of lockdowns. She felt everything at full volume: the burnout, the joy, the rage ... and a deeply inconvenient urge to get into craft.

With humor, vulnerability, and stories of her own limited life as a mom of five—two of whom struggle with severe autism—pastor and podcaster Jessica Hurlbut ignites hope in the hearts of overwhelmed moms to believe that God has more. Revealing twelve limits that hinder mothers—very real things like exhaustion, distractions, and disillusionment—Jessica empowers you to respond in obedience rather than react in emotions.

Stay-at-home mom Piper Whitman Hart is too close to her nine-year-old son, Fred, to realize that his idiosyncrasies are signs of something more. And just when his diagnosis of autism sends her life reeling, she's dragged back into the orbit of her emotionally abusive father, Lance, after a heart attack leaves him with brain damage.

In this inspiring collection of true stories, author Danielle Gary shares the joys and challenges of raising a child with autism, weaving together threads of humor, heartache, and hope to create a beautiful tapestry of family life. From the moment she received her son's autism diagnosis, Danielle felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of therapy hours, medical jargon, and conflicting advice. With candor and compassion, she shares how she navigated this complex landscape, shedding light on the joys, frustrations, and unexpected lessons that come with raising a child on the spectrum.

Since Joel tackles what happens when the unimaginable loss of a child becomes reality. Julie Schwartz introduces listeners to her son Joel David Schwartz, who lived with Autism Spectrum Disorder and died by accidental overdose at age 25. Joel’s unique cognition created situations where he baffled yet informed; infuriated yet endeared; lost and yet won. His mother describes how Joel was a “charming nerd”, inviting us to get to know him in all his complicated detail. She asks that we maintain Joel’s memory by finding small ways to be kind and celebrating our differences.