I Did Not Drive Here: Dealing with Autism

Born in 1969, Tom Flood displayed many characteristics of autism when he was very young. While showing some delay in speech, he was quick to pick up reading from watching children’s TV shows from the age of two and soon was reading and writing, and taking his magnet letter M to bed with him every night as if it was a Teddy Bear. Like his early recognition of letters and numbers and his early development of fine motor skills, his memory is enhanced so that he remembers in detail incidents that happened on specific dates in his past back to early childhood. His memory is unrelenting; it does not leave him alone. Although Tom was different from other children when he was young, he did not learn until he was 26 years old that he was autistic. It came as a relief to him that he finally was able to identify a reason for his ‘different’ behavior. Through writing his book, Tom found a way to share his feelings about his disorder with others and this gave him a purpose and a stronger identity.