Customer Reviews

Ian's Walk: A Story about Autism

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

The cover alone grabbed my attention: I've seen this posture from my son hundreds of times. As the parent of an autistic six-year-old, I found this book a superb, simple story for young companions of a child with autism. The story is straightforward, honest, and evokes compassion without pity. I would even speculate that this story would explain autism to adults with more clarity than any clinical definition.

My son has an older brother in the same elementary school and I've arranged for him to read this story to my autistic son's classmates. Although his classmates see this behavior and much more every day, I hope that the story, related personally, will give them one more thread of understanding. If any book can, this one will.

My oldest son, age 6, is diagnosed with Autism, as well as Epilepsy and Hypotonia. My almost 4 yr old son loves to have Ian's walk read to him. He's just now realizing that his big brother is different than normally developing children (he's non-verbal, still in diapers, has frequent seizures, has leg braces, etc...) He sometimes gets very frustrated with his big brother and can relate to the way the girls in the book get angry with their brother in similar situations. As much as he loves his brother it's a relief for him to see that it's okay to get angry. It's a very real story about what life is like when you go out in public with an autistic sibling. I think the book has opened up many discussions (on a preschool level and adult level as well) in our house, I would highly recommend it to any family in a similar situation.

In Ian's Walk, I identify with Tara. I'm the big sister to two six-year-old autistic girls. We've been through everything in this book, and when Ian got lost, my stomach jumped too. I was worried about how this book would portray autism. It would be so easy for this kind of story to become preachy, but thankfully, it never does. It also never asks us to feel sorry for Ian. It never descends into cloying, sentimental sweetness. We're not forced to come to any deep, compelling conclusions. It's a simple, well-told story about patience and understanding, and that's what makes it so strong and true.

I am the proud Aunt of a wonderful nephew Curtis who has autism. This book touched me very deeply. It is well written and an excellent picture book explaining what autism is all about. I also work with children and highly recommend it to teachers. This book is a great resource should you have a child in your classroom with autism. The story is gear to help young children understand some of the characteristics that an autistic classmate may have. Not only did I find this book outstanding for children but also for any adult to read. It really explains autism in very simple touching way. I will always treasure this book, because in my heart this book can also be called Curtis' walk.

Sincerely Wendy

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.

This book helps one to understand the world that autistic children (or adults) live in. It refers to their differences in sensory perception. Another reveiwer stated that this book is not for families with children who are verbal (using autistic speech patterns), but the book never said Ian doesn't use any speech. It referred to Ian not answering and "tuning out", which are characteristics of autism. Granted not all autistic children are alike, but that is true for all children. This story reminded me so much of my own 6 year old autistic son. His posture, actions, and reactions are right on the money. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has an autistic child (especially those that have siblings), and also to schools for autism awareness. It is a very heartwarming story.

Excellent at articulating the feelings an elementary age child has about his/her autistic sibling--the frustration when he won't cooperate; the anger when he interferes with plans; the panic when he gets lost ("My stomach does a flip-flop"). My 2nd grade daughter uses this book as a basis for sharing with friends.

Ian's Walk is the first picture storybook to be recognized with The Dolly Gray Children's Literature Award, an international award for children's literature dealing with characters with developmental disabilities such as autism. The sensitive illustrative and literary portrayal of Julie, Ian's sister, is representative of many siblings of non-verbal children with autism. This book well-deserves the recognition it is receiving by The Council for Exceptional Children's Division on Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities and Special Needs Project.

This is a well-written book. It's unfortunate that the sub-title is "A Story about Autism." A more accurate title would be "One boy's story of austism." Approximately fifty percent of autistic children are non-verbal. This is a story for children affected by that half of the autistic population. For those of us who are not, this book is not helpful at all. I am the mother of an autistic son, and my other children need to read a story that addresses echolalia, perseveration, and obsessive-compulsive speech patterns. These are very REAL very FRUSTRATING aspects of autism that thousands of us deal with on a daily basis.