You know someone on the Autism Spectrum

Yes, I'm pretty sure!

Meet Matt Spenser, a young adult with an eye for detail, an obsession with unfairness of any kind, and a dogged determination to get to the bottom of a crime. Matt makes the perfect detective for Dave Angel’s soon to be released, An Obsession With Justice. But Matt’s not like your typical novel detective: Matt has Asperger’s Syndrome, otherwise known as high-functioning autism.

As a writer who deals with issues of neuro-diversity and the mother of an adult son on the ASD spectrum, I applaud Angel’s depiction of Matt as a real person, finding a way to function in the real world. Life is not always easy for Matt—or his mother—but the stakes are raised when Matt, in one of his daily unchangeable routines, stumbles across a dead body. Cue the Law and Order music!

If you’d like to get a front-row ticket for Matt Spencer’s launch into the ranks of Sherlock Holmes and join those of us who love someone on the spectrum, check out Daily Asperger's Tips.

How do I know you know someone like Matt or my son? The Center for Disease Control (2019) estimates that 1% of the world’s population exists someplace on the autism spectrum. That’s 75,000,000 people; chances are good you know one: someone who’s a little quirky, a little awkward, whose brain functions a bit differently.

And there’s nothing wrong with it.

Mayim Balik, the real-life neuro-biologist who played Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler Cooper on TV’s The Big Bang Theory, recognized that all of the characters on the show were a little different than the norm. In an interview on RadioTalk.com, Balik said, “I think that’s what’s interesting for those of us who are unconventional people or who know and love people who are on any sort of spectrum, we often find ways to work around that. It doesn’t always need to be solved and medicated and labelled.”

So here’s to the Matt Spensers of the world, who see things a little differently than the other 99% of us. We don’t need to change them; we need to celebrate them!

If you’d like an early look at the incredible Matt and his story, you can register at An Obsession With Justice.

Who do you know who’s a little quirky, who looks at life from a different angle? Tell me in the comments! I really want to know!