Late Bloomer cover art

Late Bloomer

How an autism diagnosis changed my life

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Late Bloomer

By: Clem Bastow
Narrated by: Clem Bastow
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About this listen

Clem Bastow grew up feeling like she’d missed a key memo on human behaviour. She found the unspoken rules of social engagement confusing, arbitrary and often stressful. Friendships were hard, relationships harder and the office was a fluorescent-lit nightmare of anxiety. It wasn’t until Clem was diagnosed as autistic, at age 36, that things clicked into focus. The obsession with sparkly things and dinosaurs. The encyclopaedic knowledge of popular music. The meltdowns that would come on like a hurricane. The ability to write eloquently while conquering basic maths was like trying to understand ancient Greek. These weren’t just ‘personality quirks’ but autistic traits that shaped Clem’s life in powerful ways.

With wit and warmth, Clem reflects as an autistic adult on her formative experiences as an undiagnosed young person, from the asphalt playground of St Joseph's Primary School in Melbourne to working as an entertainment journalist in Hollywood. Along the way she challenges the broader cultural implications and ideas around autism, especially for women and gender-diverse people.

©2021 Clem Bastow. First published by Hardie Grant Publishing Pty Ltd. (P)2021 Bolinda Publishing Children's Health Neurodiversity People with Disabilities Relationships Autism Special Need Health
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Clem uses her personal experience of receiving a relatively late-in-life Autism diagnosis as a framework for exploring the diverse experiences of Autistic people. Her story itself is interesting, with some moments that made me laugh out loud and others that made me feel very sad. She's an engaging narrator, too, and I'm glad I decided to listen to this book rather than to wait until I could buy a physical copy once my city's current lockdown ends.

An excellent listen

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As a late bloomer myself, I found a sense of belonging while listening to Clem Bastow. This is a great memoir but with tremendously important information about autism and why we need to stop pathologising it and other neurodivergences. Wonderful book!

Actually Awesomely Autistic

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This book/audiobook for the time poor or ADHD’s has loads of relatable content and anecdotes whilst a sense of realism is maintained. Thank you for seeing me and allowing us to share in who you are.

Relatable

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If Autism in Heels can be represented as a pair of Louboutins, dripping in pretty pageantry, lipstick & pretty dresses, Late Bloomer is autism in Doc Martins, in the Australian music & journalistic scenes. Thoroughly enjoyable & entertaining while being insightful, firmly grounded in research & entertaining to boot.

Autism in Doc Martins

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Great to read a story from someone diagnosed later in life, really validating and inspiring. Also very entertaining, really enjoyed Clem!

What I needed

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