Women From Another Planet?: Our Lives in the Universe of Autism [Paperback]

Jean Kearns Miller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 29, 2003

Mention the word autism and the room suddenly turnssilent. It's the dreaded A word.People's attentionturns to late night TV public service ads declaring that autistic children are"imprisoned" by autism and need curing at all cost. Recent autobiographies havehelped dispel this dire description by suggesting that autism is not a prisonand that the door is unlocked and you're free to come in. Women from Another Planet? moves beyond these autistic life storiesin important ways. It's a collection of stories and conversations, all of themby women on the autism spectrum who speak candidly, insightfully, and oftenengagingly about both their gender in terms of their autism and their autism interms of their gender. It is written not just for parents and professionals,like the other works, but also to those women still searching for ways tounderstand the unnamed difference they live with, as well as the wider audienceof discerning readers. If you enter the unlocked door of these Women from Another Planet? you may endup with a question mark or two about yourplanet. Is normalcy really all it's cracked up to be?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jean Kearns Miller isa woman on the autism spectrum. Her official diagnoses are ADD (AttentionDeficit Disorder) with AS (Asperger Syndrome) traits, and recurrent majordepression. She graduated from Marygrove College in 1970, has an MA in rhetoric& writing from the University of Tulsa, and completed doctoral courseworkin rhetoric & composition at Purdue. She spent several years as a technicalwriter/editor before following a reluctant calling to teach, a job sheabsolutely hated when first she did it. She is an avid essayist and writer ofpoetry and fiction, and teaches writing full time at Washtenaw CommunityCollege in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she advocates for students dealing withmental health problems and neurological difficulties.

Product Details

• Paperback: 292 pages
• Publisher: AuthorHouse (August 29, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1410734315
• ISBN-13: 978-1410734310
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #426,765 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Celebrate! Wave the Puzzle-Patterned Autism Banner Proudly!, December 19, 2004

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BeatleBangs1964 (United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Women From Another Planet?: Our Lives in the Universe of Autism (Paperback)

To say I truly love this book would be a vast understatement. Instead of presenting one theory or the "Procrustean Bed" approach of painfully forcing people to support a certain finding, this book provides a myriad of insights into autism among women.

I am good and tired of the Rain Man stereotype that protrays people with autism has having savant abilities and no viable social skills; I am equally tired of the "rocking and staring" stereotype of autism as well. Sadly, stereotypes are so often applied to any population and this book unfortunately has passages wherein other groups are painted with the Stereotyping Brush. That is the only drawback.

Since this book contains a myriad of descriptions, it provides the much needed service of explaining that autism and its related neurobiological condition Asperger's is as unique as there are individuals who are on the spectrum. As the NT (neurotypical) population recognizes and claims individuality, the same applies among the a/A population.

How wonderful to find a book by people with autism about people with autism. This is the only work I am currently aware of that is concentrated on women who have autism. The fact that the authors come from all walks of life is representative of the multi-cultural/multi-ethnic world we all, as people live in is a very powerful statement. Autism does not discriminate.

I also like the way the authors describe their individual needs in coping with a largely NT world; the voice for accessibility can be seen, heard and felt throughout this work. The authors are not reluctant to challenge stereotypes and make individual claims describing how they are personally affected by having autism.

What makes this book so unique is that it is connects feminism and autism. NT issues are also addressed in this work as well. At no time did I feel these roads diverged; rather I felt the NT and a/A road converged frequently throughout this book.

A wide range of issues are discussed such as the spiritual aspects of people's lives; their core values and beliefs; their work experiences; things they do on a routine basis. Indeed, it is just this wide range that speaks even more to the diversity of the Autism Experience and encourage people to celebrate that part of their lives. Readers will come away wanting to wave the Autism Banner with Pride!

This book is a masterpiece. Like the Autism Ribbon made up of multi-colored, interlocking pieces, this book puts together a beautiful mosiac of the Autism Experience among a diverse group of women. The image as a whole, prose and poetry combined with each individual voice makes for a very unique work of art.

This book is for everybody. NT readers will come away with a greater understanding and appreciation for autism; readers on the a/A spectrum will feel this book speaks to some aspects of their lives. It contains a fresh set of perspectives about human lives and how autism is a part of those lives and not the sole focus. This is a book I'll keep banging on the drum for because I think the messages it imparts need to be heard by all, and not just the seemingly intended audience.

A good companion book to this one is Asperger's and Girls

This is certainly a book that will leave readers deep in thought for a very long time.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A variety of approaches to self-realization, April 11, 2007

By 

Tara Marshall "Tara" (Phoenix, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Women From Another Planet?: Our Lives in the Universe of Autism (Paperback)

Disclosure - I received my copy of this book as a gift from one of the contributors, who has been a personal friend of mine for years.
As a woman on the spectrum, I am used to our views being constantly ignored. The female experience of autism is qualitatively different from that of the male. If we don't talk, we are "shy". If we don't socialize with others, or need to watch what they are doing before we can attempt to join in, we're "not socially adept". If we don't join in the backstabbing and constant talk about makeup, sexuality, and clothing starting in junior high and high school, we're downright weird.

It is both easier and harder to be a woman autistic. People who think we are just shy frequently try to find ways to encourage us to "join in". And a lot of behavior that people find threatening from males on the spectrum, while not precisely acceptable in us, is less socially inappropriate. If one of us likes someone and doesn't know how to approach them, but constantly hangs around that person, someone might find a way to introduce us, if the person doesn't notice us by him or herself. In a male autistic, this same behavior could lead to stalking charges and restraining orders.

The fact that so many different women contributed to this book is a big factor in its success - at least one voice in there is likely to speak to someone.

And as for being self-diagnosed and "trivializing" autism... it is very hard to get diagnosed as an adult. Most of us, even those who have documentation of our severel language delay, are either "too successful" to be diagnosed (i.e., we have a relationship, employment, or advanced degrees and doctors dismiss our concerns about ourself), or are just diagnosed "Asperger's".

Personally, I spent much of my childhood echolalic and couldn't speak in sentences until I was almost 8. I still flap, rock, and enjoy watching spinning objects, and am extremely auditorily hyper-sensitive. I can still heard dog whistles. Bright colors disturb me, and I still can't drink out of cups that are colors other than clear, white, or blue without throwing up.
My childhood "diagnosis" was elective mutism (now called selective mutism) with autistic features, because I could read and answer yes/no or multiple choice questions. At the time, to be called autistic, you had to be mentally retarded. Learning disabilities (such as my inability to do even the simplest mathematical calculations) do not count. As an adult, I am labelled Asperger's, even though I STILL meet the DSM-IV-TR criteria for autism, since I have Semantic-Pragmatic Language Disorder, and the speech of people with Asperger's is supposed to be intact.

I work with children on the spectrum. I love most of them very much, and hope that they can become at least as high-functioning as I am. But I cannot understand their parents (other than a few who are actually on the spectrum or close to it [ADHD, etc]) to save my life. I have a very succesful history of being able to connect to autistic children, including ones who "don't like strangers" who were climbing all over me within moments of being introduced, and even occasional words or eye contact from children who otherwise live in their own worlds. People on the spectrum recognize each other, and these children seem to mostly realize that I am like them on some level. At least one of the other women whose writing can be found on this book shares this kind of relationship with these children, and works in the caring professions.

Open your mind, and at least read what some of us think. For people who are supposed incapable of thinking about ourselves or others, or of empathization, I find that most of us actually do better at these things than at least some neurotypicals (people who aren't on the spectrum).

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wisdom from sisters i didn't know i had!, March 9, 2006

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Plain Brown Tabby (Oregon) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Women From Another Planet?: Our Lives in the Universe of Autism (Paperback)

I loved the multiple-writers approach of this book. Many of the stories were similar to my own experiences as an Autistic woman, some were different. it helps me to understand the variations within our variation. Jane Meyerding's "Growing up Genderless" essay summed up for me a lot of the insidious problems faced by autistic women: as females we're supposed to be the socially adept gender: smoothing the way and facilitating the school dance, the weddings, children, family, school, church, husbands' career, etc.. When (because of autism) we don't act or look like "real girls" we are subjected to extreme ridicule and abuse and a feeling of not belonging anywhere.

These stories from women outside the box are and important part of Autistic culture; both to serve as solidarity literature for other mature AS women and hopefully give today's AS girls some more accurate pictures of how we really are and how we navigate the world.

the essay format is easy to read in chunks and the variety of voices make it a broader overview than any single-author book. I recommend this to Autistic women of all ages, especially if you've just learned that your "weirdness" is really called "autism". You're not alone, let these sisters share their stories.