Customer Reviews

Everything You Need to Know When a Brother or Sister Is Autistic (Need to Know Library)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It is not mentioned where this author received her information pertaining to autism but the figures listed that autism occurs in fifteen out of every 10,000 births is not correct.

Everything you need to know when a brother or sister is autistic starts off with an introduction by way of ten-year old Jacob having a new baby brother Noel and his feelings on becoming a big brother along with his hopes and dreams for the future relationship with his new sibling. Five years later Noel has not really responded to his brother due to his disability. Jacob now understands autism but sometimes is embarrassed to bring friend's over because his friends will think that Noel does things on purpose. Noel prefers to sit for hours rocking back and forth on the floor or watching a train move about without even moving a muscle.

As noted in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Autism chapter, a team of professionals such as a speech therapist, a child psychiatrist, a psychologist or a social worker will be the ones making the diagnosis of autism. It is not mentioned but I would also add that nursery school teachers, assistants, relatives and other school settings autistic tendencies or behaviors/symptoms can be prevalent and any of these individuals might make the suggestion of having an assessment done on the child.

The book explores what it is like to be a teenager with a sibling who is autistic and the feelings of isolation, guilt, pressure and resentment. There is also a list of what you need to know about autism and what you as a sibling can do to help. Autistic individuals tend to be visual learners and seek out the computer or television screen. A sibling can encourage the abilities the autistic child has by reading to them and speaking in a softer tone.

It is mentioned that the siblings have the longest relationship within the family unit. The older sibling could benefit from a support group at this time and learn from other siblings at "sibshops".

Other disabilities were mentioned, but Tourette's Syndrome was overlooked. This is a well suited book for those in the middle school years and entering teenaged years to help them deal with having a sibling who is autistic.

Unfortunately, the factual book includes some parody material cribbed from the Internet about "Neurotypical Syndrome" listing it as fact. ("Neurotypical" simply applies to all who do not have autism.) There are a couple of hilarious online parodies penned by people on the spectrum about "Neurotypical Syndrome" and unfortunately, this book's author or someone else included it in the list. Sadly, the fact that the author and publisher would use Internet material without a factcheck means all the book's info must be viewed as suspect. Don't know about you, but I do not have time to perform a line by line fact-check... a job, BTW, the publisher's editorial department should have performed.

I've read many of the books out there on autism. I found this book to be a fairly good, informative little book. I thought this would be suitable for my 5-year old, but the 4-8 year old rating is not accurate. I would put it closer to a pre-teen level. The author has condensed a good overview of autism, related disorders, treatment options, (suspected) causes and more. I have considered purchasing this book to loan out to friends, relatives and aides that want to know a little more about autism but could not handle reading a thick, complicated book. I would not recommend this book, however, for the parent or professional that wants more in-depth reading. Those parents should check out Overcoming Autism, Could it be Autism?, Autistic Spectrum Disorders (Mitzi Waltz), Pivotal Response Treatments, More Than Words by Fern Sussman, Teaching Individuals with Developmental Delays, Behavioral Intervention for Young Children with Autism and Biological Treatments for Autism and PDD as good starting points.

The numbers she quotes are extremely low in the rates of Autism affected children.

When my son was diagnosed we immediately started therapy (ST, PT, OT) and in the first month, I met 4 other affected families who's children were born in the same year of my son. At a hospital that delivers only about 200 babies a year.

As far as siblings learning how to "deal" with situations, she did alright, though I don't agree completely with her ideas. But as with every child with Autism, each is a completely different situation. You would have to judge for yourself.

I give it 3 stars just because I don't trust her statistics.

This is simply a good, factual book about life with a sibling with autism. This work includes some personal accounts, but is mostly geared towards educating readers about autism and autism-spectrum behaviors.

Although I wouldn't give this one a ringing endorsement, I do feel it is good in that it provides resources and explanations.