Funny, You Don’t Look Autistic

Tell me a story... of a childhood on the Spectrum 

 Funny, You Don't Look Autistic: A Comedian's Guide to Life on the Spectrum by Michael McCreary

Publishing date: March 12, 2019

Date read: November 21, 2021

Michael McCreary grew up “different” from his peers, but as he points out, Autism Spectrum Disorder looks different for everyone. McCreary loved performing from an early age, eventually deciding to use his own stories for stand-up comedy, performing his first gig at fourteen. In this memoir, geared towards a middle school to high school audience, McCreary tells about his childhood through his attempts in his twenties to travel for his stand-up and live on his own. 

I’ve seen reviews that complain that McCreary shouldn’t be writing a memoir yet, because he’s only in his twenties and doesn’t have enough life experience. While normally I might agree, this book isn’t written for that purpose. It’s a book written for teens and young adults, about what it’s like surviving school and starting out on your own when you’re neurodivergent. So for that purpose, I think he was a good choice to write this book. 

There is a lot of good content in this book for both children on the spectrum and for those who aren’t. As the parent of a neurodivergent child, I chose to read this book to gain some insight into what she might face growing up. There is also some good content just on how to interact with neurodivergent children and teens - proper terminology, expectations on areas where they might behave or understand differently. Because of this, I actually think this book would be a great resource for neurotypical kids as well. 

As far as negatives, they’re really only present as an adult reader. The writing style is fairly basic and unpolished, sometimes reminding me of a college entrance essay. And the humor and joking style can sometimes be a bit juvenile (but not in a “toilet humor” way, just in a “geared to teens” way.) But this book IS geared to teens. I don’t think most will be bothered by the writing style - I wasn’t even really bothered by it, but it is something that I took note of. 

Overall, I think this is actually a really good resource for teens and preteens, and I hope it gains some traction as a resource for this age group. I’d like to hear more from McCreary as he gets older as well. Highly recommended for this age group, both for the neurodivergent and neurotypical. 

Rating: 4/5 stars

Trigger warning: bullying, drowning (mentioned), loss of a sibling