Little Rainman

Rating:
Summary: A mixed review
Review: I applaud the author for her attempts at telling a story through the eyes and words of her son. The concept is correct, the method is not. The story rambles, often jumping from topic to topic. The "handwritten" font is creative, but actually hard to read. It could have been so much more effective to have this book written by someone with more legible printing. The photos are at times compelling, but others are too obscure for children to interpret. I bought this book for my seven-year-old son, to help him understand my four-year-old autistic son. There were some helpful thoughts, but this book seemed to create more confusion and questions for him.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I was thoroughly disappointed in this book. The handwritten font was the least of my objections regarding this work. It is easy to see where and how the pictures could cause some confusion. One of the challenges many people on the autism spectrum have is being able to decode facial expressions.

My chief complaint about this book is the title. I think the 1988 movie "Rain Man" has done more to reinforce stereotypes about autism than it ever did to foster understanding. I am good and tired of people with autism being portrayed as rocking; staring fixedly at something; spinning objects or watching anything that rotates; demonstrating savant abilities and having no viable social skills. That stereotypical behavior simply does not apply to the entire autistic population. Autism is a neurobiological condition that affects sensory processing and communication. The range and variations are as great as there are individuals with autism. Seriously, I rue the release of the movie "Rain Man" and sincerely hope the term and image of "Rain Man" will not be so liberally applied to people with autism. That hurts all and helps no one.

I didn't feel this work was very helpful and would recommend "Autism Through a Sister's Eyes," "Views From Our Shoes: Growing Up With a Brother or Sister With Special Needs," "Ian's Walk" and "My Brother Kevin Has Autism" instead. These are excellent books that explore sibling issues and foster understanding and acceptance of autism.

Although I didn't like this book, if it helped others understand the underlying rationale for behaviors associated with the condition and provided understanding, that is to the good.

Rating:
Summary: A Waste of Time
Review: This could have been much better. I admire parents who use their experiences to write stories to help us learn about children with disabilities. However, in this case it seems like it was only done to make a buck. More thought should go into a book than what appears to have happened here.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful for relatives of autistic children
Review: This is a terrific book! It helped my in-laws understand my son better. They had thought autism was as it is in TV movies - silent, non-responsive, unreachable children. Their grandson certainly wasn't like that, he got good grades, so he wasn't autistic. Now they realize that when I say my son is autistic I'm not insulting his intelligence, but refering to the way his mind works.