Discovering who I am

Always a loner, yet longing for friends; trying to make sense of the world and to bring order into the chaos around me; academically gifted, but with little social understanding; treading different paths and being labelled with various conditions; forever searching for an answer until it suddenly stared me in the face: Asperger Syndrome. Now everything began to fall into place. Why did I have to wait 40 years to discover what makes me who I am?

Discovering Who I Am is the remarkable and heart-rending story of Elkie’s search for self-understanding and acceptance. It charts her struggle with a range of devastating symptoms that neither she nor her family recognised or understood at the time. Her difficulties are expressed candidly, but without sentimentality, opening the reader’s eyes to the lived reality of the complex and puzzling condition of Asperger Syndrome. Her story is immensely moving and sometimes almost painful. Yet ultimately, it is a story of triumph and transformation, as Elkie slowly begins to make sense of what is happening to her and starts to come to terms with the stresses, limitations, but also the blessings – for there are many – of life with Asperger Syndrome. Readers who are on the Autistic Spectrum will doubtless recognise the anguish expressed within these pages. For the rest of us “neurotypicals”, Elkie’s story is a salutary reminder of how our own ignorance can add to their burden. By sharing it, she helps us to understand.
Dr. Jackie Ravet, University of Aberdeen

Elkie Kammer now lives in Inverness,
where she is working with autistic
children in mainstream schools.