Life with an autistic sibling can be difficult. It’s certainly different. Sometimes a book that’s aimed at children, can help them understand more about their sibling. This list is not exhaustive by any means, but will give some idea of the books that are available.
The first book comes from the National Autistic Society. Called My special brother Rory it is written by Ellie Fairfoot, a 6 year old girl with a younger autistic brother. Rory can’t talk, but uses Makaton. He has tantrums and flaps his hands. He runs off and has funny obsessions such as liking rubber gloves. It’s a warm book, illustrated by Ellie and would suit children of around 3 to 7 years of age. Written by a sibling it has that feeling of sharing the experience. I’ll list it in the Amazon resources page, but it would probably arrive faster if you order direct from the NAS using the link above.
Another offering from the NAS is "My brother is different" by Louise Gorrod. This is a simple book, again suitable for younger children. It focuses on behaviours, especially those that might be irritating to siblings; "If I am playing with a game on the floor……. my brother tramples all over it. This is because he doesn’t know how to play games." It also deals with the different rules scenario. One for the autistic sibling and another for other children in the family; " When I behave badly I get told off…….. but my brother doesn’t.This sometimes seems unfair. Mum says this is because I know when I am being naughty but my brother doesn’t". I really like this book, it explains some of the most difficult aspects of autism in simple terms. It’s suitable for helping understand most of the spectrum. I just changed the words slightly to make it relevant to us. Again I’ll provide the Amazon link on the resources page, but buying direct from the NAS may be quicker.
The NAS now has a whole range of literature relating to family and siblings. I’ll review others as I read them.
I was also given the book Ian’s Walk by a friend who bought it for her daughter. Finding that it didn’t really relate to her son with high functioning autism she passed it onto me. It certainly suited our situation, despite being set in America. It’s a little different from the previous 2 books as it is written in the form of a story. Ian is non verbal and goes to the park with his two older sisters. Events that take place on the way to the park provide an opportunity to teach about sensory differences. So Ian watches fans, sniffs bricks and lies on the ground to feel stones against his cheek. On the way there his middle sister Julie finds these differences rather irritating, but after Ian becomes lost at the park she begins to see the world through his eyes. This is a rather sentimental book, (both my husband and I ended up fighting tears after reading it; 5 year old Joseph remained unmoved) but illustrates behaviours that are familiar to siblings of children with moderate to severe autism. An easy bedtime read.
I haven’t explored many of the books aimed at siblings of children with Asperger Syndrome (AS). There are certainly some interesting looking titles on the NAS family and siblings page. For older siblings Freaks, Geeks and Asperger Syndrome will do an excellent job of explaining why their sibling behaves the way he or she does. I’ll review the book in more detail another day, but written by Luke Jackson who has Asperger Syndrome himself, when he was only 13; it provides real insight into living with AS during adolescence. Highly recommended. For parents and teachers as well.
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