Autism books for children

[ClaraTheImpossibleGirl]

Hi, my DS (5) is in the process of an ASD diagnosis, and I'd love to find a book which would explain this to him and his twin brother. There is a child in their class with more severe ASD and it would also help them to understand him a bit more; I've been trying to say "he's not being naughty, he finds school difficult/ overwhelming/ too much" but I'm sure there are books that would describe it better than I have! Any suggestions gratefully received

Hi, there's a lovely picture book about Temple Grandin - The Girl Who Thought in Pictures. There's another one I don't have but looks interesting called "why Johnny doesn't flap", written from the perspective of autistic people looking at the weird things neurotypical people do

For older kids we also have the awesome autistic go to guide, written by autistic authors - it's v good and accessible so I'd recommend that for a couple of years' time or so.

There is a fantastic new novel for children about 9-12 years called “A kind of Spark” by Elle McNichol ( herself neorodivergent) it would be too old for your son but an excellent novel for adults around him to read and understand.Its about an 11 year old girl and describes so well the feeling of being overwhelmed etc in certain situations.

This is a wonderful book (written by a specialist in this area) that we use to discuss ASD diagnoses with children:

www.amazon.co.uk/My-Autism-Book-Spectrum-Diagnosis/dp/184905438X/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&s=books&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1612640958&refinements=p_27%3AGloria+Dura-Vila&sr=1-2

There is a pair of books called All Dogs have ADHD and All Cats have Autism. I don't actually know how good they are, TBH, but the idea sounded quite sweet and it might be good for a 5yo.

Maybe better for 4/5 but more directed at the child with ASD rather than explaining what ASD is:

www.amazon.co.uk/Jasper-Magpie-Enjoying-interests-together/dp/1849055793/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&s=books&keywords=jasper+and+the+magpie&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1612641048&sr=1-1

one more:

www.amazon.co.uk/See-Things-Differently-First-Autism/dp/1438004796?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Thank you so much to everyone for their suggestions. I think DS knows he is different but obviously not how or why, hopefully some of these books will help fingers crossed we can keep progressing once he finally goes back to school...!

Also, it is brilliant that you are introducing these ideas so early, it makes such a difference to confidence etc.

Two more which I have just seem.Both by Jon Roberts and aimed at early years”Through the eyes of me” and “Through the eyes of us”
Picture stories written by someone with first hand experience

Thank you for the extra suggestions @Meduse; our library actually has those books, so I've reserved them both. Hopefully it won't be too long until they arrive!

@midlifecatastrophe I had a short consultation with an ASD specialist a couple of weeks ago (via Zoom) and one of the things she said was that children with ASD/ ADHD etc often have low self confidence, as they're frequently told that they're wrong/ not listening/ behaving badly etc when they can't help it. That did strike a bit of a chord I could recognise that I've probably said those kind of things too much to DTS1. I'm now making a conscious effort not to make those sort of criticisms and am trying to build his self esteem up too. I genuinely didn't realise that he might have anything like ASD as I only had (calm, placid) DTS2 to compare him to - it was only looking at things like the HV questionnaire, info at the Children's Centre and of course MN which made me realise that he probably couldn't help a lot of his little quirks! Any books which can help his confidence are great

Not exactly the questuin but I recommend "Can You See Me" to parents (as well as to older children) It's part written by a 10 year old autistic girl and is brilliant for simply explaining some of the miscommunication that happen in families and how some situations might look from an autistic perspective. So I would definitely recommend a read for parents. Easy tonread but very clear.

I haven't got any particular books to suggest as I've only bought ones specifically for girls. However, lots of very good books have titles /categories about aspergers/ aspie etc as until recently this was a possible diagnosis rather than just autism spectrum condition. I have "I am an aspie girl" for my daughter and just explained to her before sharing it that it's a word that used to be used a lot but not so often now (she's only 9 so that was a simple way for me to explain it!)

I'm currently reading "can you see me?' which is written in conjunction with an 11 year old girl with autism. It is aimed at both older children (probably beginning of secondary school) and parents to read. It is helping me see things from my daughters perspective and I'll be letting my elder daughter read it afterwards to give her insight into her sisters point of view.

Snap!!!

Crossed posts! It's a very good book.

Thank you @onthinice and @TryingNotToPanicOverCovid! I've reserved that one at the library too