Ian's Walk: A Story About Autism

Rating:
Summary: A siblings companion book on Autism
Review: Even though I have two autistic boys I read Ian's Walk to my older high functioning son who is seven and he instantly noticed similarities to his five year-old brother.

While looking through the pictures you cannot help but share the emotional journey his sister takes while on this walk to the park.

The illustrations are accurately defined and capture the real essence and beauty of Ian as he takes in his surroundings like no one else.

I shared this book with many families and suggested the teachers in both classrooms read Ian's Walk during library time, especially teaching awareness the month of April.

Ian's Walk will help others to identify some symptoms they might not of understood before reading the book. For any parent of an autistic child you might want to read this alone the first time because it can be quite emotional.

You will become more aware of the day in the life of one who is autistic and never take a simple walk to the park for granted and see through the eyes of all those who resemble Ian.

Rating:
Summary: Good book for explaining autism to young children.
Review: I did like this book. I wish that it had given a few more examples or explained a little bit more. But, it was very useful in helping young children (first grade students) how to understand some of their classmate's (child with autism) behaviors.

Rating:
Summary: Touching and succinct.
Review: Leaving clinical mumbo-jumbo aside this wonderful children's book gets right to the heart of the matter: How does a child feel when one of their siblings is autistic?

Without dwelling on 'negative' emotions, and with firm understanding that the typical sibling portrayed in the book cares deeply for her autistic brother, this story recognizes the fear, anger, frustration and embarrasment so many siblings experience in respect to their special-needs brothers/sisters.

Ian's postures, habits and sensory issues suggest a child with moderate to severe autism, but I found the emotional themes were still relevant for those children dealing with more high-functioning siblings as well. I purchased the book for my five-year-old daughter as a way to open discussion, but I believe the story would be appropriate for children as old as 10. As with any children's book dealing with autism or other special needs I would recommend reading it yourself before reading it aloud to a younger child as it can be quite an emotional experience.

Does it explain autism in a clinical, scientific, and thoroughly descriptive manner - no, but I don't believe that is the author's intention. What this story does well is 'normalize' those emotions that typical siblings are likely to feel guilty about from time to time and help them to experience the world through autistic senses.

Rating:
Summary: A great book to introduce your autistic child to others.
Review: This book is very heartwarming in its presentation of autism and the child behind the label who does "odd" things. I was moved by the very real frustrations and annoyances experienced by Ian's sister and then the ability of this young child to see beyond the normal social boundaries and relate to this special brother of hers. This is a must-read for parents who need to explain an autistic child to others (siblings, school classmates, friends of siblings, cousins, neighbors) so that they too can see that there is a real child there who just interacts with life from a different perspective.