Understanding Autistic Adults: Supporting Personal and Professional Pathways and Overcoming Challenges

Understanding Autistic Adults: Supporting Personal and Professional Pathways and Overcoming Challenges delves deeply into the experiences of autistic adults, providing comprehensive insights into potential professional paths and the psychological hurdles they may face in adulthood. It illuminates the experiences of autistics in professional fields like medicine, music, teaching, and therapy, alongside challenges like gender diversity, eating disorders, dissociative disorders (depersonalization-derealization disorder and DID), sex work, and professional stagnation. Theoretical chapters offer differentiations between autism and other psychiatric conditions; describe autistic thinking in terms of a disrupted integration between primary and secondary processes; provide a matrix for mapping various manifestations of autism; and outline support strategies tailored for autistics, therapists, government systems, and future research. Geared toward the ever-expanding audience of autistic individuals and mental health professionals, this book provides valuable insights into previously underexplored experiences to foster more understanding and validation.

Sagit Blumrosen-Sela is a clinical psychologist holding a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her contributions span both literature and psychology, encompassing works such as ＂Personality Disorders in Israeli Literature＂ (Resling, 2017), ＂Asperger’s Lost Generation＂ (Resling, 2021), and ＂Autistic People Among Us＂ (Hebrew Version) (Resling, 2023). With substantial recognition and success of her autism-related books in Israel, she has emerged as a prominent authority in the field. Her expertise is rooted in extensive clinical experience with autistic individuals, coupled with important theoretical advancements.