Autism Resource List

Additional needs
Neurodiversity, Disabilities & Additional Needs

Autism Resource List

Resources and Sources of Information List created by Children’s Disability Network Teams – Carlow, Kilkenny and Thomastown 

Webinars

The following workshops by the Psychology team can be viewed online:

Social Media

  • Twitter: If you ever have a question for the Autism community on Twitter, you can use #ActuallyAutistic or #AskingAutistics (or both)
  • Social Media Accounts: NeuroClastic, The Autistic OT, Fierce Auntie, Neurodivergent Rebel, The Autistic Advocate, The Agony Auntie

Videos

General

Autism and Girls

Recommended Books:

One of the best ways to develop insight about Autism is to read books by Autistic people and also by parents of Autistic children, although remembering that everybody’s child, story and journey is different and many things in the books will not be applicable to your child/young person.

  • “The Awesome Autistic Go To Guide: A Practical Handbook for Autistic Teens and Tweens” by Yenn Purkis
  • “The Guide to Good Mental Health on the Autism Spectrum” By: Jeanette Purkis, Dr. Emma Goodall, and Dr. Jane Nugent (2016) Published by: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
  • “NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and How to Think Smarter About People Who Think Differently” By Steve Silberman
  • “Autism and Asperger Syndrome in Adults” By Dr. Luke Beardon
  • “Loud Hands: Autistic People, Speaking” By Julia Bascom
  • “Born on a Blue Day” By Daniel Tammet
  • “My Autistic Awakening: Unlocking the Potential for a Life Well Lived” By Rachael Lee Harris
  • “The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism” by Naoki Higashida

Female Specific:

  • “The Spectrum Girl’s Survival Guide: How to Grow Up Awesome and Autistic”, by Siena Castallon. Jessica Kingsley Publishers (has practical tips on friendships, dating, body image, consent and appearance, as well as how to survive school and bullying. This is written for autistic girls by an autistic girl.)
  • “Camouflage” by Sarah Bargiela
  • “I am Aspiengirl: The Unique Characteristics, Traits and Gifts of Females on the Autism Spectrum” by Tania Marshall
  • “Odd Girl Out: An Autistic Woman in a Neurotypical World” by Laura James
  • “Spectrum Women: Walking to the Beat of Autism” by Barb Cook and Dr Michelle Garnett
  • “The Growing Up Guide for Girls: What Girls on the Autism Spectrum Need to Know!” By Davida Hartman (Director of the Children’s Clinic)

Recommended Websites:  

While the Internet is a great source of information, there is also a lot of information that is out of date, unreliable or incorrect. Information may not be relevant or specific to your child’s own needs, even if the information talks about the same condition. The following websites are recommended as a good source of information for parents:

  • https://neuroclastic.com/2020/08/06/autism-101-resources-from-the-autistic-community/ This website covers a huge range of topics and information and it is from the Autistic community
  • Thinking person’s guide to Neurodiversity: http://www.thinkingautismguide.com/p/so-youre-doing-story-about.html
  • Ireland’s National Autism Charity As I Am: asiam.ie works to create a society in which every autistic person is empowered to reach their own potential and fully participate in society. This organisation is doing some great work advocating for and supporting the autism community in Ireland and their website is worth looking at. They run autism friendly conferences and training events. We would highly recommend keeping up to date with projects that AsIAm are currently working on.
  • Autismireland.ie provides information supports and advocacy to assist parents and carers.
  • The Children’s Clinic, Ireland Facebook page often posts interesting and new articles about Autism and parenting Autistic children.
  • The Autism Self Advocacy Network: https://autisticadvocacy.org/