The Scale of the Spectrum is an accessible collection of 'story pairs' exploring the commonality of autistic experience. Each story pair tells an account of an autistic person with high support needs and/or their behaviour being misunderstood, alongside an experience of an autistic person with low support needs. Their stories are organised in two sections. In the first, understanding of an autistic person with high support needs is discovered through the experience of a person with low support needs; in the second, an autistic person with low support needs comes to better understand their experience by relating to a person with high support needs. The contributors discuss diverse challenges including food, communication, time management, pain, sensory overwhelm and mental health. Throughout the book, the contributors argue for a unity of overall autistic experience and ask the question of if people at 'opposite' ends of the autism spectrum are really so different from each other.
Joanna Grace is a Sensory Engagement and Inclusion Specialist, Author, Researcher, Trainer, TEDx Speaker and Founder of The Sensory Projects. She is a qualified teacher who has taught in mainstream and special schools connecting with pupils of all ages and abilities. She has also worked in a consultancy capacity to support schools to further their provision for children with additional learning needs. Jo is autistic, has family members with disabilities and neurodiverse conditions, and has been a foster carer for children with complex disabilities.
Introduction How this book works The Lancet move Orientation notes Meet the people Understanding other people's experience Jenny and Jo - timetable troubles Danny and Anne - eating anxiety Edith and Iona - exhaustion and emotions Raphael and Jo - survival and self-injury Eliza and Sara - fullness of attention Ahmed and Kim - sharing passions Alex and Helen - focus and burnout David and Claire (and Lee) - passion for music Ahkil and Jo - expressing things differently; words, conversations, considerations, metrics Liam and Hat - listening to silence Alex and Claire - use your words Duncan and Tigger - a safe space Jack and Jo - laconic kindness Marking the Midpoint: Denial, creation, categorisation, human? Understanding ourselves Jenny, George and Eddie - living authentically Hannah and Gerard - a mix of understanding Julia and Bilal - dazzling reflections Gerard and Stan - sharing understanding Tom and Tigger and their Togs; Nickie, Mia and Gabriel Tigger and Leo - getting things in order Jo and Julan - multiple transitions Lisa and Oscar - finding sanctuary Lynn and Poppy - an ADHD understanding Conclusion Afterword
