Autism and Me: Sibling Stories Review

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Autism and Me: Sibling Stories ReviewI have a somewhat different POV about this book than a lot of the reviewers here, because I am an adult on the autism spectrum. So I'm not looking at it so much as an educator but rather, as an Aspie. Do I see myself in any of these children? Yes. (I especially related to Jesse's fixation on phones. My special interest as a kid was insects. I still have a big collection of rubber bugs!)
This book is about siblings, but I'm not so sure that's the audience the book is really aimed at. My impression is that these sibs are trying to get their neurotypical (NT) peers to be more tolerant of their autistic brothers and sisters. Quite a few of the stories mention teasing or misunderstanding:
Introduction: "You can help kids with autism by not teasing them or letting other kids tease them. They deserve our respect."
Amber: "Some people think kids like Ravi are stupid because they have trouble learning. That makes me mad."
Amy: "[In the restaurant] Some people gave us dirty looks and we had to go home. He has autism, what's the big deal?"
Troy: [When Sam gave the announcement in school] "He talks in a high voice and people in my class were laughing at him..."
Clearly these are messages aimed at would-be bullies asking them to stop doing it. (Heaven knows, I was bullied enough back in the 1950s when Aspergers was not even on the radar. I know what it feels like.) The last story ends the book with, "You should respect people with autism for who they are." Amen.
I also don't "get" all the people here who say the stories are too syrupy sweet. I saw plenty of places where kids talked about their autistic sibs breaking things, throwing tantrums, getting into their stuff, going in their rooms without asking, screaming and making scenes in public, etc. And the sibs do admit to anger or embarrassment. True, nobody says, "Sometimes I'd like to kill my little brother" -- but then, if you are writing a book about tolerance, you don't want to focus on your own meltdown moments. I think we all know that brothers and sisters fight, get jealous, feel anger, etc. without having to spell it out in every book we write.
I also find it interesting that so many reviewers focused on the text. For me, the real value is in the pictures. Maybe this is because Ouisie Shapiro, the author, is a television producer, so she is used thinking in pictures. And Stephen Vote, the photographer, has done a wonderful job of capturing autistic children doing ordinary kid things. As another reviewer said here, if you don't read the captions and stories, it is hard to tell which child is autistic. I like that. It sends a clear message to NTs that autistic kids are just that -- kids. I love looking at these photos.
This book goes a long way toward offsetting the often negative images of autism we see in the media. Like that awful PETA "Got Autism?" billboard campaign with the frowny face in a bowl of milk, exploiting autism to try and scare people into giving up milk for animal rights. Whether or not there really is a connection between autism and lactose intolerance, I do not know, but these images are hurtful. So are all those documentaries showing autistics having meltdowns, banging their heads against the wall - -this is the picture many NTs carry of us. So the "normalness" of the photos in this book is much needed to help offset those stereotypes.
True, this might not be a book that a child would read over and over, but then, do YOU read YOUR informational books over and over? As an educational tool or a library book, it can fill an important niche even if it's not "Cat in the Hat." I can easily imagine this book being used in a lesson on tolerance. The pictures are big and bright enough to hold up in front of the class.
Now for a few complaints: Like others here, I do think the book was rather short for its price and target age group. Granted, color printing is now very expensive, but there could have been a few more stories. There also could have been some background info and resource references in the back for teachers and parents. And I found the thin script-like type font difficult to stay focused on. For these things I give it 4 stars instead of five. But all in all, I like the book very much.
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