Gunilla Gerland

Biography

Gunilla Gerland was raised in Stockholm, Sweden. Her father was abusive and eventually left her family, and her mother had alcoholism. Gerland left home at age 16, moved to Spain, and eventually returned to Stockholm. At age 29, she received a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome.

Her 1996 autobiography, A Real Person: Life on the Outside, describes growing up with Asperger syndrome in an unsympathetic environment. After its publication, Gerland became an advocate and educator about autism. She also participated in research studies, and has been described as "one of the pioneers of autistic participation in research on autism" by Anne Stenning, writing for Neurodiversity Studies: A New Critical Paradigm in 2020. She continued to write, lecture, and debate on issues related to Asperger syndrome and the autism spectrum.

She has also worked as a counsellor and educator in the field in Stockholm. Her writings have been cited in work concerning the autism spectrum and autism-related problems such as prosopagnosia, in addition to ways in which autism is analysed and discussed.

Reception

In a review of A Real Person for The Times, Colette Forder writes, "Gerland's story is a challenging one to read: a violent, sadistic father, a drunk and increasingly unstable mother, a childhood of confusion and loneliness." In a review for Times Higher Education, Nicholas Tucker writes that the message of the book "bears on all adult relationships with children. When faced by behaviour that seems inexplicable or even perverse, still try to understand always.

One of the greatest human follies is to assume that others are either just like oneself or else should be, once they have seen reason. Gerland speaks up for all nonconforming children, in an age of growing educational conformity: what she has to say deserves to be taken seriously." Her autobiography was one of several analyzed in an article about autism-friendly architecture published in the Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, and it was analyzed in an article published in the journal Metaphilosophy.

It was also discussed in an article published in the Teaching Exceptional Children journal as part of a trend of autobiographical works that are useful for the field of special education. Her autobiography was also analyzed in a study of personal narratives published in the Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics journal. Gerland, her autobiography, as well as the study of her autobiography were discussed by Anna Stenning in the "Understanding empathy through a study of autistic life writing" chapter of Neurodiversity Studies: A New Critical Paradigm.

In a review of Finding out about Asperger Syndrome, High Functioning Autism and PDD in Tizard Learning Disability Review, Ruth Levere writes, "the idea of a brief, pocket-sized book to educate young people with Asperger's Syndrome about the condition is a good idea. However, the content should be more comprehensive than this volume and it would be helpful if it could include references to more detailed texts for those who would want to extend their knowledge of the condition."