No You Don't: Essays from an Unstrange Mind Paperback – November 4, 2013

When I first approached No You Don't, I wasn't sure what to expect. I've read a number of autism memoirs, novels about us, and monographs that purported to tell "the story" of our condition, both as research for my own books and as a way of attempting to understand myself and my relationship to society as a whole. In every case, I have found other autism books to be missing some key element of the discussion, either because they try too hard to generalize from a few anecdotes to an entire population or because they reinforce the just-so stories that explain away the diversity of Autistic experience by reinforcing stereotypes about us.No You Don't cleverly avoids all of those things, and it does so without reveling in its own cleverness. Ms. Jones's series of essays are nuanced and detailed, and she is careful to highlight the ways in which her experience both does and does not reflect the conditions that other Autistics face. She discusses common problems without sweeping generalizations, confronts specific cases of abuse and brutality from her past, and narrates her path toward an understanding of her own situation with a disarming combination of humility and kindness that, in every case, thoroughly explained her perspective without dictating that others should automatically adopt it.If I had to try to pin down No You Don't to a certain genre or format, I would say that it is a book of skeptical essays that does not shrink from the task of reviewing lived experience and empirical evidence and contrasting it sharply against armchair theories and public perceptions. It is not only that, though. It is also a primer on patience and understanding, and a thoroughly enjoyable lesson about the importance of knowing oneself instead of defining oneself by the expectations of others.I come from a family that has a multi-generational history of neurodivergence. In one way or another, most of us have been touched by learning and developmental disabilities, neurological problems, and/or mental illness, and in Ms. Jones's essays I found not only echoes of myself, but of my mother, my sister, and my grandfather. It is a terribly important book, not just for people who are attempting to understand autism, but also for people who are feeling lost or alone due to any hidden disability, mental illness, or recent trauma. It is a book about hope that is not afraid to confront the darkness and name the shadows, and an object lesson in a market clogged with abstract morality tales.I can not recommend it strongly enough.

Wow. I thought I knew what autism was…until I read this book. Sparrow Rose has a wonderful way with the written word, and if you have any capacity for any human love at all, your soul will spill over with compassion for her as you read her heart-rending compositions.I believe everyone should read this book, because in this day and age, chances are good that one day each one of us will either meet someone who is somewhere on the autism spectrum, or will meet someone who knows someone who has that condition. I especially recommend this book to two groups of people.First, to educators at all levels. I used to be a school teacher, and am acutely aware of the huge gap in my education regarding the truth about conditions such as autism, ADHD, and dyslexia. I believe many Special Ed. teachers are lacking in this knowledge, as well.The second group to whom I specifically recommend this book is, of course, to parents of autistic children. If you have a child with ADHD, like I do, you will receive some insight into the workings of their brain, as well, since it shares the same root as autism.Sparrow Rose, I will be praying for you. You may have trouble believing in God, but God believes in you. :)

This is an amazing book, it helped me understand myself better as an autistic person, the author writes clearly about how autism is for her and for many of us, many things she described are similar to the way I experience things.It was painful to read about the abuse she suffered since like many autistics this was too close to me but she did write with a sense of hope and warning of how important this topic is.The most difficult parts to read was about friendships, a subjects that is too difficult, I was glad to read that is is not impossible for us to have relationships. It's something I never reached even by being able to read people better than other autistics, the key for it is hard to find but in this book we can see that is not impossible and have the example of the author's life.I was already a fan of the blog where I first saw her writing and the book can be even better to read.

If you are the parent of an autistic child, someone who works with autistic people, or an autistic person yourself, you absolutely must read this. This is the only thing I have ever read that even comes close to helping me understand an experience of autism. I have come to realize from reading this how I could have been (I'm not 100% sure) complicit in ostracizing my autistic classmates and community members. I have a sensory processing disorder and am socially awkward, but I am not autistic, so the perspective in this book was incredibly enlightening. I have come to understand now that in asserting my boundaries with an autistic person, I cannot be so aggressive; I also cannot assume that "common sense" means that everyone is on the same page as me.I've recommended this book to every autistic person and anyone affiliated with them in my life. I recommend it to you, too. It is so important.

First of all, I love you. Your book blew my mind. I have felt working in ABA that something is wrong. Especially with my girl students. I am very close to my students in a real way that doesn't look like closeness. They seek me out to touch my shoulder each morning, and yes we hug a lot. As their friend I feel terrible making them do things they repeatedly tell me NO to. But such is ABA and I love my job. My students are non verbal and much smarter than the testing indicates. I am buying a hard copy of your book to give to the other special ed teachers. I'm hoping it helps to open their minds. Thank you.

A collection of essays, some from the author’s blog Unstrange Mind. They cover a range of topics from Jones’ life including her response to parents hoping their autistic children grew up to be like her and the struggle she had with bullying throughout her life. The authors' writings are thought provoking and thoughtful, and will probably resonate with people who were only diagnosed with autism in adulthood. Worth a read for both autistic and non-autistic people.

Honest, enlightening & sometimes painful to read, but always beautiful. I'm so glad I found this when I did. It helped.

If you have a daughter with high-functioning autism or Asperger's then you need to read this. I will be eternally grateful to the author for sharing her thoughts and experiences so openly.

Thank you Ms Jones for sharing what it means to you to be autistic.I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about autism.