"April is Autism Awareness Month" readings thread

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Hi! April is Autism Awareness Month and, as the parent of a child on the autism spectrum, I make a thread on the topic every April on the 75 Challenge. I invite folks to join in with both fiction and non-fiction books dealing with the Autism Spectrum. Post autism-related books that you read this month, or suggest ones that you've read in the past.

I can name a few that are on my TBR shelf:

These are all non-fiction:
Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships by Temple Grandin and Sean Barron
Like Color to the Blind by Donna Williams
Not Even Wrong: Adventures in Autism by Paul Collins

Here are some I have readily available through library sources:
Novels:
Love, Anthony by Lisa Genova
Winter Haven by Athol Dickson
Daniel Isn't Talking by Marti Leimbach

Juvenile/YA novels:
Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Cholddenko
Rules by Cynthia Lord

Non-fiction:
Nobody Nowhere by Donna Williams
I Am in Here: The Journey of a Child with Autism who cannot speak but finds her voice by Elizabeth M. Bonker
Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and changed the world by Sy Montgomery
The Horse Boy: a Father's Quest to heal his son by Rupert Isaacson
The Everyday Advocate: Standing Up for Your Autistic Child by Areva Martin
Autism and the God Connection by William Stillman

Some of my favorite autism-related books from the past:

The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon (fiction -- author has a son on the autism spectrum)
Thinking in Pictures by Temple Grandin (non-fiction by perhaps the most famous person with autism on the planet)
Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine (YA novel)
There's A Boy in Here by Judy and Sean Barron (non-fiction memoir by mother and her son with autism)

I thought Mockingbird was excellent! The only other novel about autism I've read is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. Also, Children of God, the sequel to The Sparrow, had an important character in it who was, I believe, autistic.

Of the novels mentioned, which would you recommend most?

Ooh, I'm in. I will be reading The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum. I will try my best to get it done in April. For someone looking for fiction, The Rosie Project was a light, fun read about a man who has high functioning autism.

A book I read many years ago that really made an impression on me is called Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet. It was really a fascinating look at this disorder, from the inside.

I recently bought Love, Anthony by Lisa Genova, after reading another book by her (Still Alice).

Welcome all!

>3 Storeetllr: Well, the ones in my first post are yet-to-be-read (my options for this month) so I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who has read any of them. I would say my favorite novel that I've read on the subject is The Speed of Dark, with Mockingbird as favorite YA novel. I did read and like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night.

>4 karspeak: I need to look at both of those!

>5 jessibud2: Oh, I'd forgotten -- Born on a Blue Day was a wonderful book! I need to try Love, Anthony. I loved Genova's Still Alice, too. (For those who don't know, that dealt with another issue -- Alzheimer's.)

Another very good YA novel with a protagonist who appears to be on the high end of the spectrum is The London Eye Mystery.

The Spark is a book I would recommend to anyone with a child on the spectrum. I found it to be a great story of a great mom and her leap of faith for her son. I liked Born on a Blue Day as well...

For more on Daniel Tammet:

http://www.danieltammet.net/

http://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_tammet_different_ways_of_knowing

>7 mckait: &8 Thanks, Kath!

Coincidentally, I started The Speed of Dark yesterday.

>10 qebo: Oh, that's super, Katherine! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

By the way, this thread's now on the group wiki in the monthly themes section.

Thanks, Jim!

LOVED The Rosie Project! I tried it in audio and that was very well done. I'm going for Rules by Cynthia Lord, and if time, Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko. For this theme last year, I read one of the books you mention in the OP The Horse Boy: a Father's Quest to heal his son by Rupert Isaacson. I found that one interesting in a kind of out-there/more questions than answers kind of way.

Well, darn it all, I didn't think I had anything on my TBR bookcase that I could read for this theme read and then I discover that I still need to read my copy of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, so count me in, Terri!

I doubt I will read anything...but who knows? I read so many autism centric books when I was at my last job., I feel like I haven't run across any that have called out to me recently. I will likely follow the thread though.

>14 countrylife: Cindy, I'm not familiar with The Rosie Project, so I'll need to look for that one. Rules has been on my radar for a while, and we have it at the library. I read Al Capone Does My Shirts after meeting the author at the Children's Literature Festival at Frostburg State University a few years ago. She was my favorite presenter; her sister has autism. BTW, the term "autism" is never used in the story, as it takes place prior to the coinage of that label, but the disabled sister in the story clearly exhibits the classic symptoms.

>15 lkernagh: I hope you enjoy The Curious Incident, Lori. I did. I look forward to your comments!

>16 mckait: Feel free to follow, lurk, comment, whatever, Kath. No rules of reading commitment required here! It's all good.

I am absolutely loving Not Even Wrong: Adventures in Autism. I'm almost halfway through already. I'm so glad I'm reading it. Based on what I've read so far, I would say that I highly recommend it.

I received Drawing Autism as an ER book. I found it to be a fascinating perspective of ASD.

>18 jayde1599: That sounds interesing!

Today I set up our library's display for Autism Awareness Month. I am donating this book to the library & plan to display it prominently, because I want people to read it!

75 Challenge Book #25
Title: Not Even Wrong: Adventures in Autism
Author:j Paul Collins
Genre or subject information: non-fiction, book about autism from various angles
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2004
Series?: n/a
Date finished: 4/8/14
Off the Shelf? yes
Category for 2014 Category Challenge: Honor Thy Father
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious): a father's love for his son with autism is the driving force of this book
Alternate category
My Rating: 5 glorious stars
Notes:

This was a wonderful book. This was a fabulous book. This may be the best book I've ever read about autism, with the exception of Temple Grandin's Thinking in Pictures.

Paul Collins is an historian. He is also the father of a son with autism. This book combines history (people of the past with autism), and a memoir of his experience of life with his young son with autism, and some modern-day developments in dealing with autism. It is well-written and engaging. There were moments when I laughed out loud -- not so much that the material was funny, but simply out of RECOGNITION, because I'd lived the experience with my son and it was so good to see someone putting a loving spin on what so many people recount with gloom.

So many autism memoirs make me sad because I relive unhappy times, or wish I'd done things differently. This one reminded me why I love my son so much, and made me better appreciate the special view he has of life.

Enthusiastically recommended to anyone even remotely interested in the topic of Autism!!!

<19: Sold! Onto the list it goes.

Great, Karen! I hope you enjoy it.

There was an autism-related book I wanted to get through inter-library loan. I was surprised to only find it available via the state system in audio format. That seems rather odd, since people on the spectrum tend to be more visual thinkers than auditory thinkers -- my son definitely processes better when he can study something on paper or a computer screen, rather than just hearing it.

I just finished Temple Grandin's The Autistic Brain, which is her latest book. It was very good, definitely recommended.

I really want to get to that one, Karen!

One of the best books I've read recently is a Kindle Daily Deal! A Land More Kind than Home by Wiley Cash is only $1.99 today!

This would be an appropriate read for Autism Awareness Month, as the great tragedy of the story involves a young man never described with the word autism, but exhibiting the classic symptoms. (In the time and place of the story, he would have been unlikely to have been properly diagnosed, thus the lack of label.)

Started The Rosie Project tonight and so far, the morning after Don's first encounter with Rosie, I am loving it!

>25 Storeetllr: I am seeing so many good comments about The Rosie Project! I really should try it.

An inter-library loan book arrived for me today. It is Embracing the Wide Sky: A Tour Across the Horizons of the Mind by Daniel Tammet. Tammet is also the author of Born on a Blue Day, and is considered (and acknowledges himself) to be an autistic savant in the field of mathematics. His is a very rare mind -- those with savant syndrome rarely have the language skills or insight to write so clearly about how they experience the world.

I finished the curious incident of the dog in the night-time earlier today. I found it fascinating to view the world through our narrator, 15-year old autistic Christopher's eyes.

>27 lkernagh: Lori, I liked that one, too.


All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome by Kathy Hoopman (c 2006)

This is a delightful picture book which really does a good job of explaining Asperger Syndrome to children (and grown-ups, too). Using high-quality photos of cats and kittens and simple words, it explains basic qualities of the higher end of the Autism Spectrum. It's a very positive kind of explanation, too.

Of course, the new DSM-V diagnostic manual has done away with the term "Aspergers." I hope the publishers re-issue All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome with some re-wording or at least a note about the terminology change. A lot of it really does apply to others at the higher end of the autism spectrum, anyway.

Good morning, Terri.

I just finished Look at Me for your challenge. It's a very straightforward memoir/autobiography of a high-functioning man who found that his love of engines and electronic circuitry could be a bridge to the ordinary world. His perseverance is admirable, as is his willingness to let his wife help him. A very interesting and informative book.

I have a Temple Grandin on the shelf, but am not sure I can get to it this month.

Terri,

I really liked Look At Me. It helped my understanding of individuals who seem somewhat "off", but whose thinking is simply different. I have a greater appreciation of all indiviudals as a result of reading that book - more empathy, perhaps.

>29 Matke: >30 SqueakyChu: Gail and Madeline, that's another one for my ever-expanding list! Thanks, that sounds great.

One of my books came in too late to finish for this month's "Autism Awareness", but I may try to plug it into a May TIOLI. I did finish one book that fit here:

Rules by Cynthia Lord

Simply adorable little book about a twelve-year-old girl with an eight-year-old brother who is autistic. The Rules of the title are life skills Catherine is trying to teach her brother, David. Like: ”No toys in the fish tank.” “Flush!” “Keep your pants on! Unless Mom, Dad, or the doctor tells you to take them off.” While at occupational therapy for her brother, she makes friends with someone in the waiting room who cannot speak, but points to words in his word book in order to communicate. An artist, herself, she gives him more words to use, words useful to their own age group, all illustrated on little cards to fit into his word book.

Cynthia Lord has written a sensitive portrayal of the conflicted feelings of someone who has an autistic sibling. Highly recommended.

>32 countrylife: Cindy, Rules is one I've been meaning to get to. And please feel free to post on this thread the one you didn't get to "in time." I have one going I may not finish tonight.

I finally finished Embracing the Wide Sky by Daniel Tammet. It was interesting, but not nearly as engaging as his Born on a Blue Day.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time was the book that came in too late. Though its here now, I don't know if I'll be able to get to it in May, which is turning out to be a particularly busy month for me. I'll come back and post about it if I do get it read.

I am halfway through Not Even Wrong and enjoying it so far.

I just finished Not Even Wrong. It was a very well written first person account of a father whose son is diagnosed with autism. He also researched historical figures who probably or definitely had autism. This aspect of the book was particularly interesting to me.

Karen, I'm so glad you enjoyed Not Even Wrong. I loved it! I thought it was one of the best autism-related books I've read, and I've read quite a few!

Thanks for the rec!

You're welcome!

I also wanted to mention AmazonSmile. It has your same account settings and info as Amazon, but a small percentage of the cost of your order is donated by Amazon to a charity of your choice. I thought some other LTers might want to know about it!

Thanks for the info, Karen!

Hello, I don't know if anyone still sees this thread, but I wanted to post about 2 books I just read about autism--Carly's Voice and Ido in Autismland. Each is about an individual (one male, one female) who are nonverbal (after many, many years of various therapies and ABA), still with many behavioral issues, who learn to communicate using letter boards (NOT facilitated communication). Their accounts are much, much different from the accounts from individuals with Aspergers or high functioning autism (ie, Temple Grandin) that I have read. Very eye opening for me, and highly recommended if you have or know or work with children with severe autism.

Thanks! I didn't know about those.