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Gena
03-10-2011, 10:01 PM
Can anyone recommend good children's books about autism?

DS goes to after-school care at a local daycare center. For the most part he does well there, but occasionally he has a bad day. Today was a rough day for him, in part because of the actions of a couple other boys. The teacher (not his usual teacher, but one who covers the after-school room sometimes) told me that she took these boys aside and talked to them about their behavior towards DS being inappropriate and that DS "is not like us, some things are harder for him." Although I understand and appreciate what the teacher was trying to do, I cringed at the phrase "not like us". I would like to give the daycare center a good tool to explain autism to the other kids.

Amazon seems to have a lot of books available, but I don't know which ones are good, so I'm hoping someone can recommend one. The kids in the aftercare program are in grades 1-4, so I need something for that age group.

I would also like to find a book about autism for DS. He knows he has autism, but his understanding of what that really means is limited. Now he is getting to a stage in his development where he is starting to realize that he is different from other children. He knows that he has autism, asthma, and albinism but he gets confused about which disorder causes which difficulties.

I'm having a hard time finding a book about autism for young kids with autism. I can find books for kids with Asperger's, but that's not his diagnosis (and I don't want to confuse him more with yet another term).

lalasmama
03-10-2011, 10:41 PM
"Little Rain Man: Autism--through the eyes of a child" by Karen Simmons. We happened to find this at Value Village, and got it to help DD understand her cousin a little more. It's an okay book, however, very long-winded. May go better using the pictures as a jumping off point instead of reading word-by-word.

elliput
03-11-2011, 12:23 AM
My Friend with Autism: A Coloring Book for Peer and Siblings (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1885477899). DH and I have long time friends who conveniently have daughters the same age as our DD. After one of the girls started commenting on DD's behaviors (which absolutely horrified her mom), I picked up copies of this book for both families. I was really impressed with how the material is handled and love the parent/caregiver section.

Gena
03-17-2011, 12:59 PM
My Friend with Autism: A Coloring Book for Peer and Siblings (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1885477899). DH and I have long time friends who conveniently have daughters the same age as our DD. After one of the girls started commenting on DD's behaviors (which absolutely horrified her mom), I picked up copies of this book for both families. I was really impressed with how the material is handled and love the parent/caregiver section.

Thank you for this recommendation! I ordered this book and it arrived yesterday. DH and I both like the book very much and found that it describes DS very well. I will be donating this book to the after-school care program to help them teach the typical kids about autism. We also like the section for adults, which I think will be helpful for the staff.

DS saw the book sitting on the table and read it. Then he brought it to me and said "It's me! I'm the friend with autism!" But I'm still trying to find him a book about autism written for children with autism.