P. Thomas: I See Things Differently: A First Look at Autism
- PDF / 492,223 Bytes
- 2 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 56 Downloads / 149 Views
BOOK REVIEW
P. Thomas: I See Things Differently: A First Look at Autism B.E.S Publishing, New York, 2014, 32 pp., ISBN 978-1-4380-0479-2, $6.79 (Paperback) Kuvish1
© The Author(s) 2020
This book is intended for children who may have siblings or classmates with autism. Pat Thomas, the author of, I See Things Differently, strives to promote understanding of what autism is and what it feels like, from the perspective of the child with autism. Children hear all different things outside their home about what autism is and isn’t. Parents and teachers have this major role in promoting an understanding of what autism is. They also could find age appropriate ways to encourage interaction among peers, such as helping with homework or walking home. This book includes sections called “what about you”, where children can talk and listen to allowing children to make connections from their experiences. I See Things Differently starts with a brief description and followed through with common questions, misconceptions and includes information regarding emotions, behaviors, and who, typically, is diagnosed with autism. Speaking inclusively, the author suggests the reader may know someone with autism and elaborate on if its someone from school, a family member, or someone in their neighborhood. Even if they do not directly know someone with autism, the author provides a foundation explaining how the person with autism may seem ‘different’. “You may have seen them behaving in ways that seem strange to you, and wondered why they do these things(Thomas 2014)”, in the beginning of the book, this line helped build a community for readers to understand and acknowledge the base of autism, even without having to know someone with autism. The author wrote this book for readers make connections and understanding different perspectives. The author elaborates on ‘wearing the other person’s shoes’ and how personal feelings, such as being worried, nervous, scared or different * Kuvish [email protected] 1
Southern Connecticut State University, 501 Crescent St, New Haven, CT 06515, USA
from people are common feelings, people with autism feel. Having empathy and understanding other perspectives is a hard task for anyone; people with autism may be unable to explain why they do certain things or may not be able to speak at all to explain why a situation occurred. After providing examples the author, wrote another brief introduction about autism. Thomas explained that autism affects the way the brain works, and discussed how it makes people behave or react differently. He discusses the way ‘normal’ people’s brains make sense of the world compared to people with autism and includes the first ‘what about you’ discussion, “do you know someone who has autism? Can you say what you think autism is?” These question/connection points in the book could be helpful to have children hear or tell their experiences. The author includes a description of what autism looks like, “They may look the same as everyone else on the outside, but inside they c
Data Loading...
