Twirling Naked in the Streets and No One Noticed

Growing Up with Undiagnosed Autism

By: Jeannie Davide-Rivera

Narrated by: Alicia A. Diaz

Jeannie grew up with autism, but no one around her knew it. Twirling Naked in the Streets will take you on a journey into the mind of a child on the autism spectrum; a child who grows into an adolescent, an adult, and becomes a wife, mother, student, and writer with autism.

This is a gripping memoir of a quirky, weird, but gifted child who grows up never quite finding her niche. It took 38 years to discover that all the issues, problems, and weirdness she experienced were because she had Asperger's Syndrome (AS), a form of high-functioning autism. The tale begins at age three and takes us all the way through her diagnosis. Along the way she explains autism in a way that will have fellow "Aspies" crying tears of joy at being understood, and "neuro-typical" people really starting to grasp the challenges that autistic people face every moment of every day.

©2013 Jeannie Davide-Rivera (P)2014 Jeannie Davide-Rivera

A must listen!

I truly enjoyed this listening experience. It was another listening experience that I got to share with daughters, but this one was super special as it allowed them to hear experience life through thebeyes and heart of someone else. An excellent reminder to appreciate everyone you meet, that each person has his/her own struggle and that not because you don't understand what's going on means it is weird or less worthy of respect and appreciation. Having taught children with Autism before, I hope this experience will remain etched in my mind and help me to become not just a better teacher but a better person overall. Thank you for sharing your story! A must listen for educators!

Revelatory

It’s always interesting to me to learn how different autistic people experience the world. The brain is a fascinating thing. Now when I read historical stuff about people who were considered “off”, “weird”, “nonfunctional”, I think “they were probably autistic”.

Narration is unpleasant but story is great

The way the narrator read the story made me feel like an A.I. robot was reading it. This made the story feel sterile and hindered my ability to connect with the writer. Other than that, the actual story was pretty good and relatable.

Thank you Jeannie!

I am a mother with an 8 year old son that was diagnosed with autism (not high functioning)at age 3 1/2.
I also have a daughter that is 6 now and I have been fighting to get her an autism diagnosis (Asperger’s) because she is so smart and so verbal. However she has zero social skills Except with me. She repeats lots of things she hears from TV and people. She is a toe walker, Spinning constantly, Flapping, takes everything literally, no sense of danger etc. She has been red flagged because of her brother autism and possibly her father (he is working on getting diagnosed also) But as of now they have diagnosed her with SDD which is social Developmental delay. Which offers her no help in school or the ability to get speech therapy or occupational therapy etc.
I want to thank you for writing this book. There are so many things you have mentioned About your childhood that reminds me of my daughter and it is going to keep me fighting for her diagnosis.

Validation…FINALLY!!!

I don’t know where to start! Everyone with (formerly called) Asperger’s (late diagnosed) should read this book! It will help you understand yourself better than ever before. I was constantly saying to myself “that too?!?!” as I had every one of my confusing feelings and experiences explained back to me. I searched and studied 52 years for answers trying to explain myself to myself, with very minimal result. Then, I gave up from pure exhaustion, and just prayed. Prayed for answers. Finally, not only did I find this amazing book, but several others, and endless information on the topic, everywhere I turned! Truly one of the greatest blessings to see ANYONE that actually understands what you go through. MUST READ!!!!