“This isn’t really a book about hardship, but about achievement. Growing in to Autism will both break the reader’s heart and make them envious of the author’s profound abilities.”
BOOKS + PUBLISHING

“A great guide on growing in to an authentic, successful autistic life.”
DR STEPHEN SHORE

★ An unreserved, lovely, funny and thought-provoking memoir from Professor Sandra Thom-Jones! She is a highly experienced university vice president, research scholar, and educator. She is an autistic woman and the proud mother of two adult autistic sons. She is a passionate advocate for efforts to integrate people with autism into society.

★This is a dedicated and profound analysis of the nature of autism, an awakening book for everyone! The author will talk about identity, parenting experiences, and research on autism. We will witness the reality of being maligned and excluded, the joy of being recognized, the fear, sadness, confusion, and, of course, the warmth of love, strength, and light.

★ In an unforgettable way, this book conveys the pressing real need that we need a better sense of awareness and understanding, which we need to make room in our social lives for a group of people who have the capacity to create more variety and beauty.

What's it like to realise you're autistic? And how do you start to ask the world around you to accept that?

From the outside looking in, Sandra Thom-Jones was living a successful life- she had a great career, a beautiful home, a caring husband, two loving sons and supportive friends. But from the inside looking out, she was struggling to make sense of her place in the world, constantly feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, and convinced that her challenges with daily life just meant that she had to try harder.

In Growing In to Autism, Thom-Jones tells the story of gradually realizing that she was autistic, and that she experienced the world in ways which were markedly different from neurotypical people. This was a profound awakening - throughout her life she had been masking her true self and this effort had come at great physical, mental and emotional cost. Applying her skills as an experienced and expert researcher, Thom-Jones delved into the literature on autism in adults, learning much more than she already knew as a parent of two autistic boys.

Part personal, funny, endearing and enlightening memoir, and part rigorous explication of the nature of autism, Growing in to Autism is a book for all people, memorably conveying the need for better understanding and ways of making space for a group of individuals in our society who have so much to offer.

Sandra Thom-Jones
Professor Sandra Thom-Jones is the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research Impact) at Australian Catholic University. She provides leadership, advice and support for research engagement and impact across the university’s research areas. Sandra also leads the Autism at ACU research program. She has undertaken numerous research projects­ in partnership with the autistic community on the experiences of autistic people and the knowledge and attitudes towards autism in the community, including research that won the Autism CRC's 2019 and 2021 awards for research translation. Her research includes a 12-month reflection study on the experiences of more than thirty autistic academics from around the world. In 2018 she established ACU's Autism Inclusion Program, which aims to improve the attraction, retention and positive outcomes of autistic people in higher education. She is a passionate advocate for the inclusion of autistic people in all aspects of society.