Autism: Respecting Difference

Autism: Respecting Difference is a concise, straightforward introduction to the sensory and emotional experiences of autism, designed to help support staff, professionals, and families better understand and engage with autistic people in order to offer meaningful and effective support. It is difficult to know how other people feel, since we all assume we see, hear, and generally experience the world in the same way. For autistic people, the world they experience can be very different to ours. Autism: Respecting Difference is designed to help people who are new to autism understand how it might feel to be autistic, and how over- and under-sensitivities to incoming signals can overload the autistic brain, triggering anxiety and pain. Illustrated by artist Jodie Zutt, the book takes readers on a journey into the ’brainworld of autism’ in order to better understand and support those who live each day with the challenges of this condition. Adopting a Responsive Communication approach, it explores how to reduce sensory overload while simultaneously establishing emotional engagement and interaction via use of an individual’s body language and themes that have particular meaning for them.

PHOEBE CALDWELL DSc is a Responsive Communication Practitioner who has pioneered the development of support for people on the autistic spectrum for almost fifty years, opening channels of communication and emotional engagement for thousands of individuals who had previously experienced social and emotional isolation. Internationally, Phoebe’s contribution was recognised when she won The Times/Sternberg Award, which celebrates the achievements of people who are seventy plus who have helped society. JODIE ZUTT is an international artist based in Melbourne, Australia. She is on the autistic spectrum. Jodie met Phoebe in 2019 while researching Autism and Trauma, which led to their collaboration on this book.