Don’t let anyone tell you autism isn’t a blessing: being autistic saved Mack’s life. Soon-to-be grandad Mack had no idea he was any different to anyone else until he was hit by a juggernaut of an autistic crash. Finding himself unable to cope with day-to-day life – never mind a prostate cancer diagnosis – he had to get his head round what this meant. Fast! This is the story of how he and wife Shonagh turned the surprise of a lifetime around and used their discoveries to battle burnout and cancer. Following an NHS referral to autism charity Number 6, Mack was diagnosed as autistic at a lightly wrinkled 63. This prompted the pair to embark on a quest to put Mack’s life and struggles into context and, more importantly, to help him better manage his life and face cancer treatment. However, they couldn’t find much information at all on autism and ageing or coping with illness. What Shonagh needed, over and above an explanation of autism, was something to help her understand what had happened to Mack and how to support him. What Mack needed was to understand why his head had exploded. This entertaining and insightful story is the kind of thing they’d been looking for. An acknowledgement that even high-flying autistics can eventually burn out; that with age the ability to over-function wanes; that challenges increase with frailty and illness, but that – for all that – there’s humour, hope and help out there to make it all a little easier. A must-read for spouses/partners and families dealing with a diagnosis of autism in later years. “I think it’s a great book. Very impressive. You cover a lot of ground and it’s written in an accessible but not over-simplistic way. I would be happy to buy a copy and recommend it to the folk we see at Number 6.” Tim Hather, Number 6 One-Stop Shop, a service provided by Autism Initiatives UK
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