Autism and Me: Sibling Stories

NCLA Review - This simply written book explains autism to children. Thirteen stories acquaint us with children who have autism. It is told by a sibling and is accompanied by actual photographs. Each story exemplifies the fact that autistic children are part of families who love them and have fun together. Their brains work differently, which causes them to act in a different manner from other kids. They deserve respect and understanding. The author encourages children who read this book to help those afflicted by not teasing them or by letting others tease them. Grades 3-6. Rating 3 —MMW ( )

This is a good example of an informational book told through 1st person accounts. Rather than defining and describing autism this book allows siblings of autism to talk about their experiences as a sibling and friend of an autistic child. While positive and upbeat the children are straight forward about the symptoms and difficulties of living with an autistic child. ( )

Autism and Me is designed to teach kids about autism through the eyes of other youths. In each two-page spread the sibling of an autistic child tells the reader about their brother or sister. The best thing about this book is that it is not an attempt to define autism - it does not try to tell the reader the way kids with autism behave, instead the book gives siblings the chance to share their stories. In Their lack of commonalities tie the book together. Without having to say so explicitly, the message is clear. Autism means a child is different in any number of different ways. Some of the autistic children featured dislike interaction with others, some are social butterflies. Some do not talk at all, others walk up to strangers and talk to them cheerfully. Some live at home, some go to public school, some live in residential facilities. The stories are not sugarcoated and the young tellers offer many examples of the challenges their siblings face. However, overall the love in each story is evident. The photographs are beautifully done, but I'm unsure of what age group would find the most benefit from the stories. ( )

I think "Autism and Me-- Sibling Stories" would be a very good book to use with young children in either a home or school setting if you wanted to open up a dialog about Autism. In 32 pages, it presents multiple examples of kids of different backgrounds and genders, all of whom have siblings with some level of autism.

The book always maintains an upbeat attitude, but not at the expense of reality. The children talk about the challenges they and their siblings face. They talk about tantrums, for example, as well how hard it is for some of their brothers or sisters to communicate.

The overriding theme of their stories though is not the problems --they are in kept comfortably in the background-- but instead the strong bond of love and respect that exists between the children. I think the author and photographer did a wonderful job capturing and illuminating the affection. Kudos to Steven Vote, by the way, for capturing that love with the camera. You can see it in every picture.

Considerations:::
At 32 pages this book is a nice size for younger children.

I can easily see how this book could be used to open up dialog about autism, what it is, and how it affects families. It's cheerful presentation is likely to settle apprehensions that might arise when the idea of 'difference' is brought up. The book presents various problems kids have likely faced if they have siblings on the spectrum, so they should be able to see that it's not just their family with these problems, that lots of families are just like theirs.

Pam T!
mom and reviewer at BooksForKids-reviews