Can anyone recommend a book to explain asd to an 11 yo?

[Jimpix]

My dd (11) was diagnosed with autism this week. We’d had brief conversations before her ADOS about autism being a possibility and I tried to chat to her afterwards but she seemed reluctant to engage.

I really want her to understand her diagnosis so was wondering if there was a book that we could read together to help explain what it might mean for her?

Does anyone have any recommendations please?

All cats have asperger syndrome, I would say it is a gentle introduction, especially if you have a cat.

Actually it might be a bit simple, bit someone has put it on you tube so you can have a look and see.

Thank you, I think she’d like that 😊.

I wish there was a version that was read aloud. I am visually impaired and I know other people who would find this interesting but I can’t see the book. I will try and see if it’s at the library or something

penguin analogy

I found this incredibly helpful, but you may want to tweak it (it’s a wee bit sweary) for a child. I did it for DS1, DD and DS2 are too small to understand their dx just yet.

As an adult it helped me with my own dx a lot.

Saw this animation on FB the other day, is this any good? www.facebook.com/ASpectrumOPUK/videos/2013512852260230/

I am an aspie girl, by Danuta Bulhak-Paterson.

Thank you for the Facebook animation! That thing talks so I can understand it.

She may be more astute than you give her credit for. My autistic daughter presented to her class at 12 on what it was like to be autistic yet we had never discussed it with her (she was diagnosed at 3). Her teacher called me to tell me how she managed to have her normally noisy class captivated - I was so proud of her. More recently she's taken on the nhs and their support available, demanding help beyond 18 (they cut her off two weeks after her 18th birthday, no more counselling).

I'd look into The Girl with the Curly Hair resources. There are also some nice YouTube videos if you have a search around.

annie your DD sounds ace!

Wow annie what a fantastic thing for your daughter to have done,

Thank you for the suggestions, I’ll have a look.

www.autism.org.uk/shop/books.aspx

Here are some ideas. The NAS's own booklets from the seminars they run, which are well worth attending, are great as well.