Customer Reviews

My Friend with Autism: A Coloring Book for Peers and Siblings

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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I bought this book. It was so fantastic, I bought two more for my son's friends (based on their parents' requests for information about autism). Then, I bought 4 more for teachers, administrators and my neice. I am about to purchase two more for the new school year. Nine copies in one year!! And I'm sure I'm not yet done.

What makes this book such a find is that is is geared to describe children with high-functioning "classic" autism, which tends to be an under represented, yet burgeoning, population. Many of our kids are being mainstreamed/fully included in regular classrooms, yet stand out as "different". This book is perfect in helping to shed light on how we are all different, yet the same. It encourages inclusion and acceptance of others. And it is done with sensitivity and with a light touch.

The added bonus is the appendix in the back which does an outstanding job of explaining and describing key aspects of autism in language well understood by the layperson.

I highly recommend that parents share this with their kids' teachers, parents of schoolmates, therapists and family members. At least one copy should be in every elementary school library!

This is a wonderful book for explaining what a child with Autism is like and how it might effect their behavior.

The children's coloring book section is really good and perfect even for the pre-school level.

The parent section is awesome. It is a wondeful section explaining to the parent how to discuss each page with their child and gives a wonderful understanding for the parent at their level as well.

We orginally bought to give to a couple of parents in our son's play group whose children were starting to ask questions about their friend and why his behavior was different.

We are now buying for all our friends and family (even the grandparents) to have for their own.

A must have book.

My five-year-old daughter was recently diagnosed with high functioning autism. It was no surprise to my wife and I as we had been dealing with the effects of autism for several years and had done much research on our own. The formal diagnosis made us realize it was time to try and explain to friends and relatives what autism is and why our daughter acts the way she does. This book has been extremely helpful. It was the first book we read with our eight year old who has been struggling with the fact her little sister is different. The adult section is also very well written and was also the first resource we used for grand parents and other adults in our daughters life. We plan to purchase many more copies. Thank You Beverly Bishop!

"My Friend with Autism" is a wonderful educational tool for teachers, peers of autistic children, and other family members. This book is highly informative, yet simple to understand, and short enough to keep the younger readers' attention. I have bought 4 of these books for my autistic son's teachers, and plan to buy more for my extended family. I will also be using this book next fall to educate my son's first grade class at the beginning of the school year.

Thank you, Ms. Bishop, for creating a brilliant tool!

My friend with autism is an awesome guide for babysitters, parents, teachers, and anyone who comes in contact with an autistic child. I think Amazon.com's designation as a "coloring book" is confusing. I would recommend it to anyone dealing with Asperger's syndrome. A child can understand it, and an adult can understand it because of its dual purpose.

This is one of those rare tools that can be used to show typical peers and young siblings the salient features of kids on the autism spectrum, hopefully generating some understanding, support, and friendship for our kids. The book is primarily a picture book, in black and white drawings that can be used as a coloring book. The text is very well written, with particularly good points about ASD kids: lack of understanding of social cues and emotions, hypersensitivity to sound and light, poor ability in talking, and the need and desire for friendship nonetheless.

I highly recommend this book for elementary grade teachers to read to and with the class. Starting from first grade, a teacher should read this book with the class slowly, pointing to each illustrated page and explaining things as he/she goes along. This can be repeated as the year goes on. I don't even think the ASD child needs to leave the classroom while this book is read. The teacher can just read it to the class without naming names, or with the parents' consent, present the book and child. Adults have so much power - they can make or break the classroom experience for our kids. The ramifications are tremendous. It's very important for parents to work closely with teachers so that the latter will create an environment of acceptance, support and friendship in the classroom.

The only drawback with this book, in my opinion, is that the ASD child is constantly featured with a smile on his face, and sometimes with good eye contact and body position. As you all know, it is a rare ASD child who smiles that often and who makes good eye contact.

Reading this book made me sad that there wasn't something like this when my son was in elementary school. We need more books like this for upper grade kids too, so that they will develop more of an understanding of their ASD peers. At the higher elementary and middle school levels, "Blue Bottle Mystery" (by Kathy Hoopman) is a good one to start off, and at the high school level, the fabulous book "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" (by Mark Haddon) is great. Of course, getting the teachers to assign these books is another matter.

This is the best book ever for the peers of students with autism. The author recommends buying one for every student in the class, and I agree!! The teacher can easily use this book as a lesson plan for helping kids understand an autistic peer. Then, the students take it home for their parents to read, and many new doors are opened for the autistic student! This is a must read for adults and children!!

I bought this book for my sons K-1 class. The book explains what autism is on a level for young children to understand and the kids loved the coloring aspect of it. His teacher loved the adult explainations of each page. My 8 year old borrowed the book to read to his 2nd grade class so that they could understand his brother! I read this book to my Introdution to Early Childhood class and my teacher agreed, this book should be purchased. I HIGHLY recommend this book for anyone whose child is going into a different learning environment.

I have been working with children on the spectrum as both a teacher and behavioral counselor for 7 years. I have also served on the Board of Directors for our local ASA Chapter group. This book does an incredible job of explaining ASD to ANYONE. I feel great frustration when people say "Oh you mean you work with kids like Rain Man right?" It is at times very difficult to explain the little things involved in ASD. Simply pull this book out and read it to an adult! It does a great job of breaking things down to express the most important details of Autism. Most importantly it sheds a positive light on the characteristics that are viewed so negatively by the public. PLEASE PLEASE BUY THIS BOOK!! YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!!!

This is hands down the absolute BEST book we have ever read on autism. It is a must for every parent, educator and friend. I am about to buy a copy for each student in my son's class. I only wish I had found this book four years ago when my son was diagnosed. It is clear, concise and includes the exact information parents, teachers and friends need to know. Buy it now!