Discovering and Living with My Autism
In this intensely personal book, Judy Endow shares how she discovered her autism and how she embraces life autistically.
International Book Award Winner!
In this intensely personal book, Paper Words, readers are swept up into a fast-paced journey of how author Judy Endow noticed her differences early on, how she eventually discovered her autism and how she embraces life autistically.
From her troubled teenage years in a state institution where her coping behaviors were interpreted as defiant and oppositional, to her years in a Christian community where her behaviors were misunderstood, to a brief marriage and the birth of her three sons, Judy has emerged as a strong voice on the autism spectrum.
This book shows Endow’s resilience, courage, hard work, and sheer will power. Paper Words Discovering and Living With My Autism shows visually on the printed page how Endow, a highly visual thinker, translates her thoughts into words. Foreword by Fred R. Volkmar, MD.
Praise for Paper Words
“Judy’s extraordinary new book, Paper Words, describes better than any writing I have ever read the neurological process that occurs for individuals with autism. For any family member or professional who has ever said, ‘I wish I could spend even one hour in this person’s head,’ Judy’s book will offer clarity and insight. She reaches deeply inside herself to articulate with poetry and prose the workings of the ‘inside side’ of her skin as she courageously takes her reader on the journey of her life and discovery of her autism. Candid and fearless, this is a book that every parent, teacher, and person with autism will want to own and refer back to time and again. The world will be a better place for each person who reads it”
-Kate McGinnity, M.S., co-author of Walk Awhile in My Autism; teacher trainer for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction in the area of autism; 1987 Teacher of the Year for Autism Society of America; autism consultant; former foster parent of an adolescent with autism.
“After years of implementing various interventions for students on the autism spectrum, Paper Words, Discovering and Living with My Autism has helped me further understand the ‘why’ behind the success of the interventions, or lack thereof. Understanding the underlying neurology is a key aspect, helping us understand that, as Judy so eloquently writes, ‘it is just different and that different and minority do not need to be equated with less than.’”
-Lisa Ladson, B.A., B.C.A.B.A., friend and colleague, educational and behavioral consultant.
“Paper Words gives insight into the many realms of autism that we need to understand better, including differences that may be present in sensory processing, thought integration, and information retrieval. Through her poetry, Judy expresses so much of what many are unable to say for themselves. Her words are truly a gift to anyone who wishes to understand what it is like to live on the autism spectrum.”
-Sharon Hammer, M.S., autism and behavioral consultant.
“As a parent of someone affected by autism, I have often wished I could see the world from my son’s perspective. This book provides that window. It has helped me understand not only the importance of sensory regulation but also why it takes him longer to access and process information. My relationship with my son has been enriched as a result. This important work reminds those of us who live, work, and love individuals with autism to assume intelligence, slow down to allow the person with autism time to process, accept people for who they are, and relish in the beauty of each person with autism.”
-Marilyn Larson, parent
“A sequel to Making Lemonade, in Paper Words, Judy Endow flows freely into ‘autie-biography,’ prose, and poetry. Her writings intrigue, inform, inspire, and invite the reader into Judy’s unique experience of the autism spectrum.”
-Donna Williams, author, artist, and autism consultant