Why Can't You Hear Me?

A personal account from the parents of Colette McCulloch, who was killed on the road after walking out of the specialist care facility for autistic adults where she was being treated. Interspersed with Colette's original writing, this book highlights the importance of understanding and supporting autistic people, and others with complex needs.

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In the early hours of 28th July 2016, Colette McCulloch was hit by a lorry and killed on the A1. Eighteen hours earlier she had walked out of the specialist care facility for autistic adults where she was being treated.

Here, Andy and Amanda McCulloch tell the story of their daughter's life and untimely death: the years in which her autism went undiagnosed, her lifelong battle with eating disorders and the lack of support for her complex needs. The book is interspersed with Colette's own vivid and eloquent writing, her poetry and prose articulating her experiences grappling with a world forever at odds with her. Colette's story is a call to action and ultimately leaves a message of hope for a future in which autistic people will be better understood and able to flourish.