Finding Your Superpowers: A Guide for People on the Autism Spectrum intentionally mimics and uses the popular images of superheroes. The book is a quick read with a fun and approachable format for a wide age range. The author has extensively interviewed families and "experts", including talking/consulting directly with adults on the spectrum.The target audience is young adults and adults on the spectrum, parents/care givers and allies. It would also be useful for educators, case managers and specialists in health and mental health care. The author has included examples, stories from individuals and families as well as resources and further information sources in the text. At the end of each chapter the reader is invited to note their discoveries. The focus of this book is on discovering and nurturing the strengths, personal traits and focused interests' people on the spectrum bring to their world over their life span. Through their individual strengths, many people on the spectrum can experience a positive and fulfilling life. The systems that surround neurodiverse people put more emphasis on the person's "deficits" and/or "developmental delays" than affirming differences - often feeding low self-esteem, depression and anxiety. This book is a guide to engaging or challenging these systems to nurture each person's "superpowers". It is hard, but attainable.
Retired after 40 years of service in local and state government, Anne Pflug taught public sector management and research at Central Washington University in her hometown of Ellensburg Washington and at the University of Washington, Seattle, Evans Graduate School of Public Policy. She has served in local government as an appointed chief executive officer and in state government as a public policy research manager advising the Legislature and Governor of Washington State. She has been recognized at the state and national levels by her profession for distinguished service. Anne has three adult children, two of which are neurodivergent. She was proactive, as a parent, in her children's education and care. She participated in parent support groups and as a member of the local county Developmental Disability Board where she helped author the county's developmental disability service plan. As a single head of household with an autistic adult child living at home, she shares the experience of the majority of families in the country with household members on the spectrum. She holds an MBA in Management and Finance from Seattle University and a BA with an emphasis in community planning from The Evergreen State College in Washington State. She currently enjoys a range of creative pursuits and being active in her community.
