Jeannie Davide-Rivera shares her story of growing up with undiagnosed Autism in “Twirling Naked in the Streets and No One Noticed: Growing Up With Undiagnosed Autsm.” In the introduction Jeannie shares the statistics of Autism. “In 1974, 1 in 5,000 children were diagnosed with Autism…In 2013…1 in 55 children are now diagnosed and identified as being on the autism spectrum.” She continues to describe her imaginary friends: ten puppies and 3 baseball players. Though she was only three at the time she was focused to the point of obsession on baseball. She refused to leave home without her imaginary friends in their assigned places. There were many other symptoms such as obsessively walking on her toes, insisting on a routine of her own and being hyper-sensitive to fabrics. No one understood what was going on with Jeannie; her mother assumed she was being difficult. Her father would knock food out of her hand if he caught her smelling of it. In the seventh grade Jeannie wore her coat in class because she was ill and having chills. The teacher “grabbed a fist full of my hair to pull me from the desk.” Jeannie in return grabbed a fist full of the teacher’s hair. In high school she attended an alternative school which seemed to be the best choice for her.

My heart goes out to the author, Jeannie Davide-Rivera; her Autism caused her parents to be angry and frustrated. Perhaps if her parents had recognized the disorder they would have been able to cope in a more appropriate manner. However, the reality of her childhood was abuse. I admire the person Jeannie has become despite the obstacles that have stood in her way. “… an autistic person must think about and focus consciously to perceive what comes naturally to others.” The author courageously shares the pain of her childhood and adulthood. At one point Jeannie uses the word 'disconnected'. I believe that word best describes Autism. Like most of us, knowing there really is a problem, that it isn’t just our imagination, made a difference in Jeannie’s life. I highly recommend this book to others.

Suffering from autism, Jeannie is an intelligent child who cannot comprehend the context of words, nor their meanings and social implications. This is in 1974 when awareness of autism and other mental conditions are not as high as today. Her family thinks she is a stubborn, picky, hyper-sensitive little girl with plenty of imaginary friends. She attends school, studies ballet and exhibits a number of strange behaviors that are simply explained away. In middle school, she thinks nobody understands her. Excelling in academics, she struggle through life as a college student at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. After this, she becomes a bank teller, cashier, waitress, bartender, lab assistant, undercover investigator, emergency medical technician, secretary, dance instructor, medical transcriptionist, correctional officer, and a writer. Simply unable to keep a job, the 23 year old Jeannie gets married and have children. She floats in life, feeling alone and without purpose, looking for some kind of explanation. This is her struggle, her life.

Life is hard enough without being autistic and "Twirling Naked in the Street and No One Noticed" is the story of the struggles of an autistic woman. In addition, she goes through life and nobody around her knows it. As soon as I started reading the first few pages of this memoir, I could almost see the author as a little girl with her imaginary friends. I like it that she is using the first person perspective because it provides the story an intimate feel. This narrative gives us an idea of how an autistic mind sees and reacts to life's challenges. Recounting her life from childhood to motherhood and beyond, Jeannie Davide-Rivera literally bares her soul to her readers. This is perhaps in the hope that her readers may get to understand anyone suffering from Asperger's Syndrome, a form of high functioning autism. The author's descriptive style is simple and straightforward and is quite effective in making the story vivid and real. I also like the titles of the book's twenty three chapters because most of them exhibit a sense of humor that is heartwarming. I highly recommend this book to everyone, not only to understand people with autism, but also because Jeannie Davide-Rivera is a gifted story teller.

Provides the all too rare 1st person perspective of an aspie. Too often books about aspergers & autism are written from the normative guesswork of Neuro-typical teachers, doctors and Parents or worse yet charities. This book counters that nonsense with Jeannie's highly reflexive account being Neuro diverse in a Neuro typical dominated world. I highly reccomend it.