Autism Awareness

Today I am honored and so very excited to help shine a light on resources to help us understand students with autism and other special needs.  Here are five of our favorite books that tackle this topic.

Looking After Louis by Leslie Ely finds the young narrator taking notice that Louis is different but taking him under her wing and helping him out at school nonetheless. But will she think it's fair when he earns extra recess and she's not the one who gets to go with him?

In He's My Brother by Joe Lasker, we never really know what Jamie's "invisible handicap" is, but throughout, we get to know from the brother's perspective what it's like to be Jamie's sibling. I especially like the way it switches between black and white and color as we journey through his feelings with them.

Lori Mitchell's Different Just Like Me journeys with a young girl who travels through town noticing all sorts of accommodations that help people who are different, just like she. It even has a page with Braille numbers on it.

Based on real-life siblings Ryan and RJ, My Brother Charlie, by Holly Robinson Peete and Ryan Elizabeth Peete, is the sister's viewpoint of who her brother is and how their needs differ. My favorite part:

 

Charlie has autism. But autism doesn't have Charlie.

 Understanding Sam by Clarabelle van Niekerk and Liezl Venter takes a sensitive look at Asperger Syndrome and the eccentricities that can come with being on the spectrum. Sam is different, but it's not until he goes missing that his parents realize that they might need to seek professional help.

Here are two that are on my list; 
click them to read the reviews that piqued my interest!

Sometimes students with special needs have a difficult time

 identifying and understanding their feelings, so I created a

Feelings Booklet 

that you can download {here} to help in that area. 

Print the pages on card stock and hole punch in the corner so your students can keep them on a ring. Or staple it along the top or side and let them have a little book. Encourage them to draw themselves or cut out pictures from a magazine that'll match the feelings on each page. 

Then let them talk about times when they've felt that way. 

What happened first? What happened next? What happened last?

 Teachers have also used Social Stories for these kiddos 

with great success.

A story that eloquently explains raising a 

child with autism is Emily Perl Kingley's 

A Trip To Holland.

What are your go-to resources for Autism Awareness?