This was an interesting read and very informative, providing nice insight into what it's like to have Aspergers. This story brought a lot of sadness but necessary insight.

I have met many austistc people in my life and they had different traits and abilities. I love books about peoples' experience with disabilities and am sensitive and empathic towards them sinve I myself have multiple disabilities.

Although I don't have autism, I could relate to the difficulties in being accepted and feelng integrated in society as well as the difficulty making friends. I too am sensitive to loud or sudden noise but my challenges are due to Cerebral Palsy and Hydrocephalus.

I understood the feeling of being misunderstood throughout my life and having to find advicates and fight for services.

I believe that each and every one of us who are differently abled has something positive to give the world despite our physical or intellectual challenges.

I, for example, am fluent in Spanish and have a university degree, am married and am fighting to become a publshed author.

Many of us can do, and are, more than people give us credit for.

I was drawn into Marlene Ringler's account of life before her son's diagnosis as well as everything she, her son and her family have been through in life.

I got my diagnoses within the first weeks of lfe but I cannot imagine the frustration of waiting for longer. I identified with contradictions about intelligence and ability and felt included on the journey the book takes me on.

The wealth of research and studies about autism and Asperger's throughout time as well as the mention of The Rosie Project (a book I still have not listened to) was thought-provoking but as I am not a doctor of any kind I did feel a little lost in all the information.

The best book on Asperger's since The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. This has answered the questions on Asperger's I had since one of my favourite TV shows is The Good Doctor.

Marlene Ringler has a way of making hers and her son's story hit home.

Thanks to Marlene Ringler and Books Go Social for my ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. Book #2 for Quarantineathon 2020.

I changed my career from being a Store Manager, then going back to college to work in a area I have always wanted to do since I was in my teens. Now I am working with autistic young adults. This book was recommended to me via a friend and I am so glad I had a chance to read and review it. This has now become my reference book.
I am Me by Marlene Ringler, PhD is about a is a courageous Mother's journey with her autistic son, combining research with a warm, candid, and compelling personal narrative. I found it very interesting and very helpful in my new field of work which I love doing, it's so rewarding, with every day is different! This book is written with so much love, empathy and determination, and Marlene describes the struggle they both experienced and coming to terms with an autistic spectrum diagnosis etc. This book give hope for other parents who have an autistic child etc.

I highly recommend this book.









BooksGoSocial

Having a child with asperger's myself I was fully able to relate to the author. I'm also a psychologist. Dr. Ringler was very informative about ths history of asperger's syndrome, but she left out some of the more nasty parts about Dr. Asperger and the experiments he conducted of his young parents. I don't know if she knew about his history, and chose instead to gloss it over.

The story does give the reader hope that with time, patience persons with Asperger's are capable of living a normal life. Their lifestyle may differ from what society states is normal, but ask yourself "What is normal?" We know what abnormal is but do we truly know what normal is.

Asperger syndrome is more prevalent in society...we are no longer hiding them in institutions. I believe that this book could give hope to parents with children recently diagnosed with ASD to allow them hope, and to realize that like with any child there will be ups and downs.

I have always enjoyed reading books discussing The autistic spectrum disorder also known as ASD. If you or anybody you love is either on the spectrum works with the spectrum or just wants to know more about it this book is for you

This book was raw and honest and really shows what those that care for an adult with autism experience. It is not easy caring for an adult that is on the spectrum, as there is no way to predict what your day is going to be like. Every single decision made in the day is dependent on the autistic adult's ability to go along with the plans or modifications of them. I work with autistic middle school students and cannot imagine what it is like to be a caregiver to someone with autism that is an adult. The author was honest about setbacks and victories and I found this to be a very good look at what it is like for the caregiver. So many of us focus on the person with autism, that we forget about the person that has to care for them for their entire lives.

As the mother of a son going through the diagnostic process, I turned to Marlene Ringler's memoir as something of a last resort when I feared for my own sanity amidst the stress of it all. By page 2 I was in tears and felt seen and very much less alone. I can never thank Marlene enough for writing this. The book has certainly served its intended purpose as "a source of strength and optimism". It is well-written, extensively researched and provides a wealth of additional resources. Highly recommend!

Subtitled ‘My Personal Journey with My Forty- plus Autistic Son’, Dr Marlene Ringler has used a multitude of research materials and other sources faithfully to write her account of the parental challenges and fears for her son. She has explained how her son perceives the world he was born into and cannot make any sense of the times where he is totally misunderstood. She details his life up until his forties. An autistic child becomes an autistic adult; a validated diagnosis of ‘being on the autism spectrum’ is a lifetime diagnosis, and often those unfortunate enough to be autistic are misunderstood and in consequence treated unfairly. Marlene became a so-called ‘Tiger Mum’ to advocate for her son (and others) and make sure they are able to make a meaningful life for themselves and lead a happy contented life. She is very knowledgeable and also keen to educate others about autism so that those on the autism spectrum are understood.
Her meticulous research as detailed in her writing, is revered by many healthcare officials and professionals; among them are psychiatrists, psychologists, professors, development paediatricians and behavioural and social scientists. I found this part of the story quite intense and a bit of an information overload, although a retired teacher with some experience of autism, especially Asperger’s syndrome. What I admired most of all were the parts of her writing that detailed how she and her son both had to fight for understanding. I read his loving sister’s letter about her relationship with her brother and other family dynamics. Marlene’s worst fears are about what will happen when his parents are dead. Who will care? How will he get along? Who will be there to oversee his life and advocate for him? Here I really empathised with her: I have a son in his forties. He has several lifelong conditions, both physical issues and mental health issues. Like Marlene, my husband and I support our son 100%. But life is a constant battle for our son, as with Marlene’s son. Like her we worry about our son as despite, being intelligent, kind, hardworking and living independently he is misjudged and let down.
I received this moving true story through my membership of NetGalley and from publisher, Morgan James Publishing all in return for an honest review. This is my 3.5* review. All the opinions are my own with no influence from other parties. There are many injustices against those individuals that are ‘different’ through no fault of their own. I reflect on this story with sadness and hope for more tolerance, patience and understanding for those who are ‘different’