An honest account of a difficult but rewarding journey.
A SMALL BLUE THING:
Life on the spectrum
Julie Hanify
Submarine/Makaro Press
BY DOUG ANDERSON
Today, children who are diagnosed with autism might expect help and assistance for themselves and their family. However, for a sizeable number of adults, especially those who grew up before the 1990s, there was no help.
It has only been in more recent times that we have come to understand complex problems like autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Julie Hanify, of Wellington, writes about being diagnosed with ADHD at 43. For her, it would be the start of a difficult but rewarding journey in coming to terms with herself and learning to cope with ADHD.
As a young girl, she had great difficulty at school trying to understand what teachers wanted from her and trying to socialise with other pupils.
In addition to talking about her life, Hanify also includes her career as a teacher for primary school children. She uses several anecdotes about how she devises techniques to help special needs children cope with their environment and also for the other children to understand what is going on.
The book’s structure reads like a collection of episodes of the most important moments of her life. There are scenes that are very disturbing, including sexual abuse.
One major theme which is important to her character is a love of music, which starts at her Catholic school where she learns to play the piano. Her introduction to modern pop music through a new teacher in 1975 enables her to view her teachers as actual people rather than figures of authority.
Later in life, she becomes a member of the musical group Rythmplant in an attempt to find some personal satisfaction as various health issues and marital problems plague her.
Don’t think of this book as a story about someone suffering but as a story about someone who learns to understand and accept her condition.
The book ends on a hopeful note, as Hanify talks about the progress she has made and how she continues to learn about herself.
- Doug Anderson is an admin assistant for Delta Utility Services.
