Raising Resilient Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders by Robert Brooks & Sam Goldstein
This book is clearly targeted for adults who are raising children "on the spectrum." One of the main topics tackled within this text is the tendency of many children with autism to "obsess" over very narrow interests. The authors suggest that parents reframe their children's interests as "islands of competence" rather than seeing them merely as unhealthy obsessions. Parents can then use those interests as a bridge for developing needed skills. Although I am not qualified to judge most of the advice offered in this book, I have read interviews where Temple Grandin offers very similar advice about utilizing an autistic child's area of interest--in fact, she credits a teacher doing just that as an impetus for pursuing a career in science. I believe strongly that those of us who grew up to be successful adults with disabilities have much to offer children who are growing up with the same, or similar, disabilities that we live with and to their parents, who are dealing with the stresses of raising disabled children. I find it comforting to see "experts" reiterating the same advice that I've seen Temple Grandin offer on many occasions, especially since the author's quote Temple in their book.
North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley
Don't let the fact that this is a teen book dissuade you from reading it. This is a beautiful story of how a girl with a port wine stain and a boy with a cleft meet and develop a relationship that helps both of them on their journey to self-discovery. Yes, of course, they fall in love along the way, but this is more than "another teen love story." It's a well-written novel where both the teen and adult characters are portrayed as complex human beings who grow and develop in believable ways over the course of the novel. I am a clefty myself and the teens' experiences rang true me, especially their (ultimately successful) quest to neither repress the impact of their birth defects on their lives nor to allow it to dominate their personalities, but, instead to allow these experiences to inform their growth into very fine human beings.
Kids of Kabul by Deborah Ellis
This is not a book "about" disabilities or about characters with disabilities. It is, instead, a well written and fascinating collection of profiles of tweens and teens living in Kabul, Afghanistan, in all their diversity. The Canadian author's matter-of-fact inclusion of children with disabilities could serve as a model for inclusion in print and other media. Ellis does not gloss over the fact that the children's disabilities play a large part in determining their fate, but she does not fall into overly negative or overly positive stereotype. Every child in this book, with or without disabilities, comes across as heroic. Her profile of "Fareeba" is a good example of how she compares and contrasts the lives of children in Afghanistan with the lives of children in Canada and the United States. She explains, "There is a huge stigma against people with mental illness in Afghanistan, as there is everywhere else." She goes on to explain, however, that the difference is that a child like Fareeba (who likely has autism) in the US or Canada would go to school and receive some kind of therapy to help her develop and grow. She explains that Fareeba is in a safe environment, "But she has never been to school, never seen a speech therapist, never been given toys or tasks that might help her move forward. Her future is more of the present." Other children in the book are receiving services of some kind through special programs--some for physical disabilities; some for emotional problems; some for both. This is similar to the portrayal of children without disabilities in the book--some children have no opportunity to receive any education or training; other children are receiving some kind of education and looking towards the future.
This book is clearly targeted for adults who are raising children "on the spectrum." One of the main topics tackled within this text is the tendency of many children with autism to "obsess" over very narrow interests. The authors suggest that parents reframe their children's interests as "islands of competence" rather than seeing them merely as unhealthy obsessions. Parents can then use those interests as a bridge for developing needed skills. Although I am not qualified to judge most of the advice offered in this book, I have read interviews where Temple Grandin offers very similar advice about utilizing an autistic child's area of interest--in fact, she credits a teacher doing just that as an impetus for pursuing a career in science. I believe strongly that those of us who grew up to be successful adults with disabilities have much to offer children who are growing up with the same, or similar, disabilities that we live with and to their parents, who are dealing with the stresses of raising disabled children. I find it comforting to see "experts" reiterating the same advice that I've seen Temple Grandin offer on many occasions, especially since the author's quote Temple in their book.
North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley
Don't let the fact that this is a teen book dissuade you from reading it. This is a beautiful story of how a girl with a port wine stain and a boy with a cleft meet and develop a relationship that helps both of them on their journey to self-discovery. Yes, of course, they fall in love along the way, but this is more than "another teen love story." It's a well-written novel where both the teen and adult characters are portrayed as complex human beings who grow and develop in believable ways over the course of the novel. I am a clefty myself and the teens' experiences rang true me, especially their (ultimately successful) quest to neither repress the impact of their birth defects on their lives nor to allow it to dominate their personalities, but, instead to allow these experiences to inform their growth into very fine human beings.
Kids of Kabul by Deborah Ellis
This is not a book "about" disabilities or about characters with disabilities. It is, instead, a well written and fascinating collection of profiles of tweens and teens living in Kabul, Afghanistan, in all their diversity. The Canadian author's matter-of-fact inclusion of children with disabilities could serve as a model for inclusion in print and other media. Ellis does not gloss over the fact that the children's disabilities play a large part in determining their fate, but she does not fall into overly negative or overly positive stereotype. Every child in this book, with or without disabilities, comes across as heroic. Her profile of "Fareeba" is a good example of how she compares and contrasts the lives of children in Afghanistan with the lives of children in Canada and the United States. She explains, "There is a huge stigma against people with mental illness in Afghanistan, as there is everywhere else." She goes on to explain, however, that the difference is that a child like Fareeba (who likely has autism) in the US or Canada would go to school and receive some kind of therapy to help her develop and grow. She explains that Fareeba is in a safe environment, "But she has never been to school, never seen a speech therapist, never been given toys or tasks that might help her move forward. Her future is more of the present." Other children in the book are receiving services of some kind through special programs--some for physical disabilities; some for emotional problems; some for both. This is similar to the portrayal of children without disabilities in the book--some children have no opportunity to receive any education or training; other children are receiving some kind of education and looking towards the future.
If you have additional titles or reviews to add to this page, please email me at [email protected]. Reviews from readers with first hand experience with a disability featured in a book are especially welcome.