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This article was published 08/01/2022 (513 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Adam Mardero is a person who lives with autism and works to further the cause of acceptance of autism and neurodiversity acceptance. He has earned a master’s degree in history as well as a bachelor of education. This book is a fascinating and frankly inspiring account of his own journey to achieve understanding and acceptance of his condition.

Mardero begins with his birth in 1988, informing readers it was a big year because the Super Mario Bros. 3 video game came out and Die Hard, which he deems the best Christmas movie ever, opened in the theatres. It was also the year his mother broke down because of unexplained childhood trauma. His parents divorced and soon after, his father met and married a fellow school teacher. For Adam it meant that he now had three devoted parents who shared the challenge of raising him. Although his relations with his parents were not always smooth, he would always know that all three loved him and supported him.

The mention of Super Mario Bros. and Die Hard were early indications of the huge importance of computer games and movies in helping him cope with the problems he faced in his young life.

His best friends during his school years were always people who were fascinated by digital games and their characters. The worlds and stories of these games were comforting, and proved to be important ways to connect with similar kids. “[W]e differently wired folks seem to find our way to each other,” he writes about the friends he made.

While Adam’s condition was initially undiagnosed, once it was known the psychologists who examined him predicted he would never be able to make friends or have relationships. He proved them wrong, making close friends with other boys who were similarly enthusiastic about common interests, who stuck with him through difficult times. Adam was also plagued by bullies who liked to trick him and make fun of him. He slowly learned to recognize actions that were meant to hurt, and to fight back to some degree.

Adam’s parents tried to help him by providing structure and discipline in his life, and he describes how this sometimes worked and at other times did not. He joined sea cadets and was able to thrive in the structured world of that organization. He wanted to quit on one or two occasions, but his parents would not agree to it, telling him to stay with the process, which eventually led to his becoming a petty officer. Reaching this rank had been his goal for some time, and he felt proud to have achieved it.

Girls were of growing interest to Adam in high school and university, and he did have some regular girlfriends who taught him about these complex kinds of relationships and about such things as kissing.

He eventually found he wanted to be a writer — and it is as a writer that he begins to contribute to understanding of other autistic young people. Adam makes an important contribution to autistic people and their friends and families, founding a blog called Differently Wired (differentlywire.blogspot.com).

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Uncommon Sense will play an important role in educating people about the way autism influences peoples’ lives; it’s recommended for anyone who wants to better understand autism.

Jim Blanchard is a retired academic librarian who writes history about the City of Winnipeg.

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