I Love Being My Own Autistic Self: A thAutoons Book

“This book is going to change how we all view autism.” Karla Fisher (Senior Program Manager/Engineering Manager at Intel, mentor for autistic youth)

I Love Being My Own Autistic Self is a funny and upbeat book for autistic people, their families, and others who care about them. Author Landon Bryce uses a colorful cast of cartoon characters to gently introduce neurodiversity, the idea that neurological differences should be respected and valued.

“This comic is BEAUTIFUL! I want to share it with everyone with any connection to autism. It's a great primer for novices, and an excellent reality check for almost everyone who thinks they understand autism.” Noah Britton (public member of the the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, founding member of the comedy group Aspergers Are Us, Adjunct Professor of Psychology at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston, Massachusetts)

Vector, our narrator, talks about the benefits and challenges that his autism gives him. His friends Ramikin, who has Asperger’s syndrome, and Marko, who is nonverbal, show how different from each other autistic people can be. Vector also introduces readers to his friend Pang and his sister Manta, so they can see what it is like for him to interact with people who do not have autism. Researcher Dr. Chip is looking for a cure for autism, and Vector explains why that makes him sad.

“This could be a helpful book for children and adults with autism, as well as our parents. Landon Bryce has filtered the voices of thousands on his website through his brain and found a simple way in doing so. It is easy to read, using colors and characters. It does not come across as a children’s book, yet I think some children might understand these important points better, and reading with their parents, they BOTH might begin to understand how we feel about each other in this bag of human skin.” Adam Bailey (father and creator of the autism comic strip OWL)

"I hope everyone in our Community reads this -- every staff person at Autism Speaks, every teacher, every family member. I see my son in some of these pages, and I hope he loves being his own autistic self, too. " Jennifer Sheridan, mom to Charlie (autism, age 8)

“I Love Being My Own Autistic Self is an honest and hopeful appeal for autism acceptance and understanding. The concept of neurodiversity and differing points of view are distilled down and personified as individual characters. Even as it acknowledges autism is hard to understand, the book sets out to help the reader do just that, most effectively through memorable sound bites voiced or thought by the characters. This is an essential pocket guide for anyone who wishes to better understand autism and the issues autistic people face." Matt Friedman, author ofDude, I'm an Aspie.