April is the month for Autism Acceptance Month. Some may know April as Autism Awareness month, but the word “acceptance” is starting to be used more. This is because many people know what autism is, but not all of them are completely accepting. Non-autistic people can learn to be more accepting of autistic people by researching and speaking with autistic people to learn about their experiences. One great way to research is to read— so here are this month’s picks for Autism Acceptance month. 

This month’s fiction book is Ellen Outside the Lines by A.J. Sass. This book follows an autistic girl named Ellen on a school trip to Barcelona. Ellen plans to use the trip as a chance to grow closer to her best friend, Laurel, since the two have been growing apart, and Ellen relies on Laurel to help her with social situations. However, Ellen doesn’t realize how difficult the trip is for her emotionally. She has to learn how to reach out to new friends as well as accept that some people may not stand by her side forever, eventually learning that planning doesn’t always go the way she expected.

This month’s nonfiction book is Autism in Heels: The Untold Story of a Female Life on the Spectrum by Jennifer Cook O’Toole. O’Toole describes autism from a female perspective. Historically, autism has been known to appear only in boys and not girls. This is because symptoms present differently depending on gender, resulting in misdiagnoses. O’Toole describes her experience of being diagnosed at thirty-five and how this impacted the rest of her life, while also spreading the message that autism appears in different ways for every autistic person, which is why it’s a spectrum.

Happy April and happy reading!