[1] Her 1996 autobiography, entitled A Real Person: Life on the Outside (original Swedish title: En Riktig Människa), describes growing up with Asperger syndrome in an unsympathetic environment.
[16] 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.
"[17] In a review for Times Higher Education, Nicholas Tucker writes that the message of the book "bears on all adult relationships with children.
[20] 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.
"[23] In a review of Secrets to Success for Professionals in the Autism Field: An Insider's Guide to Understanding the Autism Spectrum, the Environment and Your Role in the International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, Simon Rose writes, "The chatty style makes it feel almost as if you are having a conversation with the author, but may lack the clarity of some more scientific texts - however this is more than compensated through the use of examples and lists."