Reviews + feedback: Autism in the Family:
Siblings:
1.Kasey (age 7; Black British):
‘I like picture 14a best, because that’s really true. Denzel used to climb out of the window. And he used to run away. I remember when he ran away and mum went to the police and I was frightened sitting next to the police-man in the car. Then we found him with those other children. I also like picture 12c, because that’s what Denzel is like now: he does the washing up and clears the table and hoovers and sweeps up and does the washing, like in picture 7c. Usually we take turns. But sometimes I don’t want to do it and then he does all of it. I like playing with him, - he copies me, or we do jumping off the bed together. He taught me to roller-skate, - I don’t know how he did it, he just did. I don’t like going to my dad’s without him, - it’s too boring and I miss him when he isn’t there.’
2.Rumina (age 11; Bangladeshi)
‘That is like my brother. He never play with us. He likes jumping best, on the bed. But my mum and dad don’t like it, and he likes climbing on the settee, - and going to the play-ground. Sometimes I think he says something. But I’m not sure. I try and play with him. But he doesn’t want to. I don’t know why he can’t use the toilet. Maybe he’s like that boy in 8c. My mum and dad are really unhappy about that.
3.Mohammed (age 15; Somali)
‘It’s good, that picture-book. That’s what my sister is like. Usually she doesn’t do the more peculiar things. But she doesn’t talk, which is really odd and annoying. And when she doesn’t get what she wants, she screams, just like in picture 14b, and she will drag my mum across the street like that. My older brother is really good with her. She doesn’t do that to him, because he is really firm and he won’t have it. So she behaves with him. But my mum argues with my brother about it. She feels sorry for Fatima. But I think she is wrong. I think Fatima could do more, like with my brother, or like in 7c.’
4.Gavin (age 37, sibling of 42-year-old autistic brother; British)
‘Oh, this is brilliant! This is exactly what I would’ve needed when I was a child. My brother was so difficult and so unlike all the other children I knew, - these funny behaviours and then the screaming! You know, I never knew there was a word for it until I was about 12. When I first found out that there was a word for it, ‘autism’, I was furious that they had never told me before. It made it so much easier at school to be able to say ‘my brother is autistic’. And picture 15a is exactly like things are with Andrew now: he still doesn’t talk, but he is good with the computer. He lives in this shared house with support-workers, and sometimes we go and visit, - and at Christmas he visits our parents.’
Parents:
5.Chrea (mother of 3-year old autistic boy; Kurdish)
‘It’s really good that picture-book. I showed it to my husband yesterday, and translated it for him, and it really helped me to explain everything to him, because he doesn’t want to see that there is anything to worry about. But I think there is, and with the pictures I could explain it to him and we could talk about it for the first time. It’s really got everything in it. How did you do it?’
6.Hasna (mother of 4-year-old autistic boy; Bangladeshi)
‘I like picture-book very good. I show my daughter. She 7 years old. I explain her: autism children no understand and sometimes no talk, but can get better. I say her: she play with him, he get better. I show her picture 4c. She very like picture 4a. She say, her brother same. Now she understand ‘wait, - be patient’. My husband buy trampoline, like picture 3c. She show my son jumping and take turns. Now she play her brother more. My son: very very like. She understand how. She very much like rainbow.’
7.Cheng (father of 5 year-old autistic boy; Chinese)
‘It was really good to get the picture-book after the told us the diagnosis ‘autistic’. My wife was so upset. But with the pictures, - it was nice colours … and then you want to see the next page and what’s on the picture … and then it give us ideas what we can do to help him, and not be so depressed. We also show it to my in-laws and my son cousins. Then we can look at the picture together and talk about it, and they can understand the problem … and don’t always say that it’s nothing the matter. Then they can help us and my son get better.’
8.Pete (father of 11-year-old autistic girl + teacher of ASD-adolescents; British)
‘I really like the picture-book. It’s a brilliant idea! I am going to use it with my students. It’s good the way the pictures open and it gets them to think about the problems and to talk about it.’
9.Lakshmi (grandmother of 3-year-old autistic girl; mixed race)
‘Now I understand more what her problem is, and that it isn’t because my daughter does not live with the baby’s father. The pictures helped us to talk about autism. We never talked about it before. We just tried to manage. Then I took it to my son and we looked at it with his children and his wife, and now they understand and can help more, and everyone gets on much better. Thank you so much!’
10.Shamsud (uncle of 6-year-old autistic boy; Bangladeshi)
‘My sister not speaking English and she no understand. She living alone - 2 children, - her husband no good. It very difficult. With picture-book: I explaining her the problem. It say, it not her fault. She very happy. She thinking: her fault, she no good wife, she no good mother. But now she understand: now she playing her boy, then her boy get better. He no have to be same like now. It possible: he change, he get better, - perhaps he learnt talk! I also explaining my other relative and showing picture. We many many talking it. We never talking it before. Talking: good. Now very happy.’
Professionals:
11.Jenny Yeang (Child Development Team)
‘We have ordered a box of picture-books to show to parents and explain why we are diagnosing their child as autistic, and they can take them and discuss it at home with their children and other family-members. I think they are really going to be very helpful to families.’
12.Khalida Khan (Integrated Services Manager for Children with Disabilities/ LBTH)
‘It is wonderful to see the result of so much work and experience condensed into this beautiful little book, that addresses all the issues. It must’ve been hard to get it all to fit into just 45 pictures.’
13.Helen Jenner ( Head of Access and Inclusion/ London Borough of Tower Hamlets)
‘What I like a lot is that there are a lot of picture that apply to all children, not just those with ASD, and that it shows that autistic children are also just children like everybody else a lot of the time.’
14.Stewart Harris (Head of Phoenix School for Children with ASD/Autism/ TH)
‘Could we translate them for the non-English-speaking parents at our school? I think that is going to be very helpful for everyone. Perhaps we could do some creative stickers to stick onto the pages?’
15.Kevan Collins (Director of Children’s Services, LB Tower Hamlets):
‘Thank you for your very kind invitation to your book launch last Friday. Regrettably I was unable to get away due to an emergency. I was really looking forward to this but I am sure that it was very eventful and enjoyable.’ (letter)
16.Prithvi Perepa (National Autistic Society/NAS):
‘I think this picture-book is going to be very helpful for BME-families and particularly for those from non-English-speaking and other cultural backgrounds. I will ask our publications department to review it in our national publications listings.’
17.Mary (Teaching assistant to 4-year-old ASD-girl in mainstream school; white)
‘That book you made is brilliant. I looked at it with the other Teaching Assistants at the school. We read it, - and it is really helpful. We kept saying ‘that’s just like Abby’. We’ve learnt a lot from it, … and I honestly think that we’ve got better with her. I have to admit, I used to shout at her when she was naughty, - like all that screaming, you know. Now I realize that it isn’t really naughty. She can’t help herself. Now I talk to her different, - and it really helps. It calms her down, you know. I think we all feel that we understand her more better now. It’s really good, that book.’
Email: info@reachingautism.org
Siblings:
1.Kasey (age 7; Black British):
‘I like picture 14a best, because that’s really true. Denzel used to climb out of the window. And he used to run away. I remember when he ran away and mum went to the police and I was frightened sitting next to the police-man in the car. Then we found him with those other children. I also like picture 12c, because that’s what Denzel is like now: he does the washing up and clears the table and hoovers and sweeps up and does the washing, like in picture 7c. Usually we take turns. But sometimes I don’t want to do it and then he does all of it. I like playing with him, - he copies me, or we do jumping off the bed together. He taught me to roller-skate, - I don’t know how he did it, he just did. I don’t like going to my dad’s without him, - it’s too boring and I miss him when he isn’t there.’
2.Rumina (age 11; Bangladeshi)
‘That is like my brother. He never play with us. He likes jumping best, on the bed. But my mum and dad don’t like it, and he likes climbing on the settee, - and going to the play-ground. Sometimes I think he says something. But I’m not sure. I try and play with him. But he doesn’t want to. I don’t know why he can’t use the toilet. Maybe he’s like that boy in 8c. My mum and dad are really unhappy about that.
3.Mohammed (age 15; Somali)
‘It’s good, that picture-book. That’s what my sister is like. Usually she doesn’t do the more peculiar things. But she doesn’t talk, which is really odd and annoying. And when she doesn’t get what she wants, she screams, just like in picture 14b, and she will drag my mum across the street like that. My older brother is really good with her. She doesn’t do that to him, because he is really firm and he won’t have it. So she behaves with him. But my mum argues with my brother about it. She feels sorry for Fatima. But I think she is wrong. I think Fatima could do more, like with my brother, or like in 7c.’
4.Gavin (age 37, sibling of 42-year-old autistic brother; British)
‘Oh, this is brilliant! This is exactly what I would’ve needed when I was a child. My brother was so difficult and so unlike all the other children I knew, - these funny behaviours and then the screaming! You know, I never knew there was a word for it until I was about 12. When I first found out that there was a word for it, ‘autism’, I was furious that they had never told me before. It made it so much easier at school to be able to say ‘my brother is autistic’. And picture 15a is exactly like things are with Andrew now: he still doesn’t talk, but he is good with the computer. He lives in this shared house with support-workers, and sometimes we go and visit, - and at Christmas he visits our parents.’
Parents:
5.Chrea (mother of 3-year old autistic boy; Kurdish)
‘It’s really good that picture-book. I showed it to my husband yesterday, and translated it for him, and it really helped me to explain everything to him, because he doesn’t want to see that there is anything to worry about. But I think there is, and with the pictures I could explain it to him and we could talk about it for the first time. It’s really got everything in it. How did you do it?’
6.Hasna (mother of 4-year-old autistic boy; Bangladeshi)
‘I like picture-book very good. I show my daughter. She 7 years old. I explain her: autism children no understand and sometimes no talk, but can get better. I say her: she play with him, he get better. I show her picture 4c. She very like picture 4a. She say, her brother same. Now she understand ‘wait, - be patient’. My husband buy trampoline, like picture 3c. She show my son jumping and take turns. Now she play her brother more. My son: very very like. She understand how. She very much like rainbow.’
7.Cheng (father of 5 year-old autistic boy; Chinese)
‘It was really good to get the picture-book after the told us the diagnosis ‘autistic’. My wife was so upset. But with the pictures, - it was nice colours … and then you want to see the next page and what’s on the picture … and then it give us ideas what we can do to help him, and not be so depressed. We also show it to my in-laws and my son cousins. Then we can look at the picture together and talk about it, and they can understand the problem … and don’t always say that it’s nothing the matter. Then they can help us and my son get better.’
8.Pete (father of 11-year-old autistic girl + teacher of ASD-adolescents; British)
‘I really like the picture-book. It’s a brilliant idea! I am going to use it with my students. It’s good the way the pictures open and it gets them to think about the problems and to talk about it.’
9.Lakshmi (grandmother of 3-year-old autistic girl; mixed race)
‘Now I understand more what her problem is, and that it isn’t because my daughter does not live with the baby’s father. The pictures helped us to talk about autism. We never talked about it before. We just tried to manage. Then I took it to my son and we looked at it with his children and his wife, and now they understand and can help more, and everyone gets on much better. Thank you so much!’
10.Shamsud (uncle of 6-year-old autistic boy; Bangladeshi)
‘My sister not speaking English and she no understand. She living alone - 2 children, - her husband no good. It very difficult. With picture-book: I explaining her the problem. It say, it not her fault. She very happy. She thinking: her fault, she no good wife, she no good mother. But now she understand: now she playing her boy, then her boy get better. He no have to be same like now. It possible: he change, he get better, - perhaps he learnt talk! I also explaining my other relative and showing picture. We many many talking it. We never talking it before. Talking: good. Now very happy.’
Professionals:
11.Jenny Yeang (Child Development Team)
‘We have ordered a box of picture-books to show to parents and explain why we are diagnosing their child as autistic, and they can take them and discuss it at home with their children and other family-members. I think they are really going to be very helpful to families.’
12.Khalida Khan (Integrated Services Manager for Children with Disabilities/ LBTH)
‘It is wonderful to see the result of so much work and experience condensed into this beautiful little book, that addresses all the issues. It must’ve been hard to get it all to fit into just 45 pictures.’
13.Helen Jenner ( Head of Access and Inclusion/ London Borough of Tower Hamlets)
‘What I like a lot is that there are a lot of picture that apply to all children, not just those with ASD, and that it shows that autistic children are also just children like everybody else a lot of the time.’
14.Stewart Harris (Head of Phoenix School for Children with ASD/Autism/ TH)
‘Could we translate them for the non-English-speaking parents at our school? I think that is going to be very helpful for everyone. Perhaps we could do some creative stickers to stick onto the pages?’
15.Kevan Collins (Director of Children’s Services, LB Tower Hamlets):
‘Thank you for your very kind invitation to your book launch last Friday. Regrettably I was unable to get away due to an emergency. I was really looking forward to this but I am sure that it was very eventful and enjoyable.’ (letter)
16.Prithvi Perepa (National Autistic Society/NAS):
‘I think this picture-book is going to be very helpful for BME-families and particularly for those from non-English-speaking and other cultural backgrounds. I will ask our publications department to review it in our national publications listings.’
17.Mary (Teaching assistant to 4-year-old ASD-girl in mainstream school; white)
‘That book you made is brilliant. I looked at it with the other Teaching Assistants at the school. We read it, - and it is really helpful. We kept saying ‘that’s just like Abby’. We’ve learnt a lot from it, … and I honestly think that we’ve got better with her. I have to admit, I used to shout at her when she was naughty, - like all that screaming, you know. Now I realize that it isn’t really naughty. She can’t help herself. Now I talk to her different, - and it really helps. It calms her down, you know. I think we all feel that we understand her more better now. It’s really good, that book.’
Email: info@reachingautism.org
