The Spectrum Girl’s Survival Guide

How to Grow Up Awesome and Autistic

About the Author:

Siena Castellon is a 17-year-old universally perceived and multi-award-winning autism advocate and anti-bullying campaigner on the autism spectrum. Moreover, she has won a BBC Radio 1 Teen Hero Award, Observer New Radical Award, and the British Citizen Youth Award. Furthermore, she is partnered with the UCL Center for Research in Autism and Education. She lives in London with her folks and her pet dog Rico.

About the Book:

”The spectrum girl’s survival guide: how to grow up awesome and autistic” offers all the guidance and apparatuses anyone will need to help them prosper and accomplish what they want in their everyday life. From the responses to regular inquiries, for example, ”Am I using fitting non-verbal communication?” and ”Did I say some unacceptable thing?” by talking about the significance of understanding one’s feelings and caring for their physical and psychological well-being and coping with anxiety and sensory overloads. Siena Castellon utilises her encounters to furnish others with the abilities to conquer any challenge.

Reviews and Insight:

With down to earth tips on companionships, dating, self-perception, assent and appearance, and how to survive school and bullying, it is a perfect guide. ‘The Spectrum Girl’s Survival Guide’ enables us to accept who we are as a person, reminding the people that in any event, during the hardest of teen moments, one is never alone. 

Siena, astute past her years, had individuals thinking from the point of view they hadn’t considered previously. For instance, the common labels when she said that “the low functioning label ignores strengths and the high functioning label ignores weaknesses.” (Seina)

Siena clarifies how the neurotypical brain is ideally intended to work with socialisation, and afterwards, she proceeds to depict how the autistic mind varies. Siena stresses that “nor is better or more awful”, and she asked the question “, Imagine a scenario in which nature planned the two brain to be diverse on purpose.” 

Sarah Wild, Headteacher, Limpsfield Grange School expounded on the book; ”Neurodiversity campaigner Siena Castellon’s The Spectrum Girl’s Survival Guide is an unquestionable read for youthful autistic girls. It has a scope of advice and tips identifying genuine certifiable issues. An instant classic!” 

Sienna writes in her guide, ”Exploring life as an adolescent is perilous. No joke, I attempted it once!”. Spectrum Girls is a definitive manual for surviving this monumental stage in life, giving the reader the much-needed manual to numerous inquiries and circumstances frequently befuddling or troublesome, however naturally known by non-autistic companions. 

As per Lawrence Fung, M.D., PhD, Director, Stanford Neurodiversity Project and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, ”Siena has enunciated the subtleties of life that can be utilised as an outline for young ladies on the spectrum. She delineated many significant ideas on how to focus on strengths and interests to construct a healthy identity. This book is a blessing to young ladies on the spectrum and the other people who care about them. This book will be an incredible asset for neurodiverse young ladies, their folks, and suppliers.”

Young ladies are obliged by society to fit in, ignore instincts and wariness, overrule our inward voices, and depend on others’ assessments. The guide standardises a portion of the internal insecurities and anxieties that are normal for neurodiverse young ladies. This book’s advice is helpful for all girls, especially the notes on psychological well-being, design and dealing with their body. However, the emphasis on sensory overwhelms, and co-occurring conditions is fundamental reading for the neurodiverse teen and those wanting to incorporate and uphold such teens. Siena composes at the right level for all the readers; no psychobabble, only solid, proof-based advice converted into stories and models that bode well. The Spectrum Girl’s Survival Guide is by and large what the title depicted.

References:

Castellon, S., & Hill, S. M. (2020, March 19). The spectrum Girl’s Survival Guide: How to grow up awesome and Autistic (paperback). Retrieved April 13, 2021, from https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-spectrum-girls-survival-guide/siena-castellon/9781787751835

Tucker, K. G. (2020, February 07). Book review: The spectrum girl’s survival guide. Retrieved April 13, 2021, from https://the-art-of-autism.com/book-review-the-spectrum-girls-survival-guide/

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