TITLE: Secrets of the Autistic Millionaire: Everything I Know About Autism, ASD and Asperger’s That I Wish I’d Known Back Then… (Kindle Edition)
AUTHOR: Plummer, David William
SUBJECT AREA: Autism-Adulthood
PUBLISHER: David William Plummer
PUBLICATION DATE: 2023
NUMBER OF PAGES: 277 (for Print Edition)
For some weird reason, I accidentally downloaded and purchased this book a few months ago, but I am now glad I did. The author starts with his introduction: Welcome to Autism, then describes his budding relationship with his employer Bill Gates and there is a fascinating description of his years working for Microsoft as a programmer and he even invented the Windows Task Manager! His autism allowed him to focus like a laser beam on his work and he was successful for many years.
Autism got in the way of many other aspects of his life, and he describes every element of his autism in detail, from mindblindness to sensory processing to difficulties with emotional regulation and even some things we never think about. For example, he states that people with ASD are often curious about what’s inside of something. No stone is left unturned here and he gives brief descriptions of autism characteristics, but then goes into great detail in later chapters devoted to meltdowns and other parts of autism.
Every part of life is colored by autism and Plummer describes how being autistic affects employment, love and relationships, marriage and parenthood. A Canadian, who moved to the US, Plummer married his high school sweetheart Nicole, who is “neurotypical” and with whom he was deeply in love. Marriage and especially parenthood can present a minefield of problems such as unexpected changes in schedule and routine, sensory challenges, communication snafus and adding anxiety, depression and OCD to the mix doesn’t help, either. All of this is described in detail and each chapter focuses on a specific subject. In addition to the problems presented in each chapter, the author describes strategies that he adopted to make life easier and more comfortable for everyone involved. For example, on a daylong trip to Disneyland with his wife and kids, he finds all the noise and color too overstimulating, so he retreats to the hotel and settles in his darkened room at the computer for a few hours, then goes back into the world and enjoys himself so much more. He also uses noise cancelling headphones to block out extraneous sounds. These strategies are ones that anyone can use, so this book is as much a guidebook for navigating autism as anything else.
In addition, information in the later chapters can help a parent or a partner of an autistic person to be more aware of the problems that might ensue in a relationship or when working with a neurotypical employer. Many of these problems were made worse because Plummer wasn’t diagnosed until much later in life, but when he got that all-important diagnosis, everything changed! He finally understood where all his problems originated and when diagnosed at 30 he made a concerted effort to work on himself and he continued to grow and change well into his adult years.
The title should not be taken literally rather, it can mean that one can live a happy and rich life, like a millionaire, when one can find ways to live successfully with autism! I was fascinated by this book and was inspired, too. If he can have a successful career, marry the love of his life and have happy, thriving children, so can others with autism! This is also an important guidebook for parents, teachers and especially employers and spouses of adults with ASD, as the focus is primarily on adulthood-a minefield in itself!