Book Review: The Journal of Best Practices by David Finch

The Journal of Best Practices by David Finch (2012) is the first autobiography of a late diagnosed autistic adult that I ever read. I heard Mr. Finch and his wife interviewed on NPR and ordered the audio book immediately to listen to on my commute to grad school. The author was funny and gave good insight into his sensory needs, routines, and how masking came into play for him. He also shared some of his internalized ableism (although I don't know that he saw it as such) related to fear that having autism meant he would be a bad husband, a bad father, and that he would not be able to feel empathy (see comments for more thoughts on this). This despite the fact that the whole journal was based on an empathetic need to a be a good husband/father. I really enjoyed his book and often recommend it to late diagnosed autistic men or to their family members. It is a really good way to start conversations about their own traits of autism, as well as internalized ableism, which most autistics struggle with.