Can I tell you about Autism?: A guide for friends, family and professionals

Can I Tell You About...?

by Jude Welton, Jane Telford (Illustrations)

Meet Tom - a young boy with autism. Tom invites readers to learn about autism from his perspective, helping them to understand what it is and explaining the challenges he faces with issues such as social communication, sensory overload and changes in his routine. Tom tells readers about all the ways he can be helped and supported by those around him. This beautifully-illustrated book is ideally suited for readers aged 7 and upwards, and will be an excellent way to increase understanding about autism, in the classroom or at home. It also includes clear, useful information for parents and professionals. The 'Can I tell you about . . . ' series offers simple introductions to a range of limiting conditions and other issues that affect our lives. Friendly characters invite readers to learn about their experiences, the challenges they face, and how they would like to be helped and supported. These books serve as excellent starting points for family and classroom discussions.

Genres: Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Nonfiction

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Jude Welton has a 10-year-old son with Asperger's Syndrome. Originally trained as a child psychologist specializing in autism, she is a freelance writer, writing mainly on the arts. She recently started writing about and for children with AS.

Reviews

[Sandra "Jeanz" · Rating 5 out of 5]

INITIAL THOUGHTS
So what am I expecting from this book? I think it will be telling me what Autism is and how children that have autism react to social situations, and things like going to school.

MY REVIEW
I came across this e-galley one day whilst browsing on Netgalley. As I have a friend whose youngest son has Autism. I wanted to read the book to understand what my friend and her son were going through. Perhaps I could be more supportive to her after reading this book. Luckily I was accepted for an e-galley.
The book is presented in two parts. The first part is told from the point of view of Tom. Tom is a young boy who has autism and through the first half of the book he tells us, how autism affects him and his daily life. Tom tells us, the reader how he copes with Autism, and how he feels in certain situations.
This first section of the book is supposed to be aimed at children but to be honest I felt I learnt a lot from being told through the point of view of a child with Autism.
The second half of the book is aimed at carers, parents and professionals. So it suggests ways to cope and prevent outbursts/tantrums with forward planning and preparation.
There are also address and links for various organisations that give help and advice.
This Can I Tell You About Autism is from the Can I Tell You About . . . . Series and they have other titles available too for conditions such as dementia and Aspergers.
I think this book series should be in schools to help children (and the adults) to understand the different conditions and how to help people with them.
This book explains Autism really well in a friendly sort of way,that is non preachy that is jargon free. It simplifies a complex condition so the reader can understand what and how they can help.

[Dani Shuping · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC provided by Netgalley

I was just diagnosed as being on the Asperger’s spectrum (or Autism Spectrum Disorders) last year. Since then I have been eagerly laying my hands on any book that looks like it might be useful or contain good information in it as I do a crash course in how to better understand myself and things that I can tell people. I’ve been eternally grateful to Jessica Kingsley publishing for putting out so many excellent titles and for Netgalley for allowing me to have access to them. Can I Tell You About Autism? is a great little book to introduce young readers (and older readers as well) to the basics of autism as described by someone on the autistic spectrum. The relatively simple text and illustrations provide readers with an excellent idea of how people on the spectrum might think and react to situations. My one complaint with the book is that the cover itself is somewhat childish looking and might deter some readers from giving it a try. However, I do recommend this book as an excellent resource for the introduction of autism for young readers, particularly those that might have a sibling or a friend on the spectrum, as this title will help them understand autism a bit better. Four out of five stars.

[Roxanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the ARC's I've read that I would love to purchase for my own library. I really liked the simple, straightforward format and how things just made sense as I was reading it. So many books on autism make my eyes glaze over in boredom, but this one perked me up and actually taught me a thing or two about how my son's brain processes things. Definitely recommended to anyone wanting to learn more about autism or to those with a child on the spectrum.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice and clear. Helpful wording to explain the condition and the child's needs succinctly.

Interested to see that HFA (this book is 2014) and Asperger's are different in that HFA involves language delay. At odds with our diagnosis?

[Kanti · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book providing insights and understanding about what it's like to have autism.

Jude Welton's "Can I tell you about Autism?" is a nicely illustrated introduction to Autism. This is a very good and brief resource to understand Autism.

This book is designed in such a way that even children aged above 7 can read it.

This book is for both children and adults to understand autism and few ideas that can help a child with autism (a kind of 'mind blindness'.

***
It's very hard to imagine what other children and adults might be thinking or feeling, or know what they intend to do.
I have big difficulties coping with change.
Loud noises, the smell of some foods and flickering lights are difficult for me to cope with.
If I have to look at someone while I'm listening to them, I feel overloaded by lots of information. When Mum reads to me, I like it better if I'm facing the same way as her.
I understand things in a 'literal' way.
I usually play with things rather than people.
Having routines and repeating things help me relax.
Change and surprises make me VERY anxious.
When I'm somewhere noisy, it hurts my ears.
I have some problems with 'motor' skills, which means I can't always coordinate my body movements.

[Jane Flynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as research for work and found it a useful if simplistic guide. It’s the story of ‘Tom’ a little boy with autism. It’s written in two sections, one for children and one for adults, explaining how Tom differs from other children in how he perceives the world and what effects these differences have on him. It’s very short, I got through it in around half an hour, but it’s easy to read with lots of illustrations for children. I found the adult section a little too simple, it could have gone into more detail about some autistic traits such as stimming and masking, but as a starting point it was pretty good. I did like the section on ‘Social Stories TM’ and intend to do some more research into these.

[Leigh Drury · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this to be a really useful read. It's not a long book - so no time to get bogged down in the medical side of things. Instead this book explains autism through the eyes (and words) of a young boy. Each little section explains how an aspect of autism feels for him - physically, emotionally and mentally. Then towards the end of the book there is a section aimed at parents, with help, guidance, a useful glossary of terms and advice for further reading. This didn't answer every question I had, but it was a useful tool that made me stop and think what it's actually like for the child, and guided me to further assistance on specific areas.

[Ille · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Can I tell you about Autism?: A guide for friends, family and professionals' by Jude Welton is another great book in the Can I Tell You About? series.
Each book in the series is written in first person, with the character introducing us to the challenge they face, what it means for them and how others can help them and other people who have the same challenge.
In this book, Tom tells us about Autism.

[Cathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book for parents and some professionals new to this area. Be interesting to know if there is similar about Autism in girls as this book feels like it is heavily written about what is seen predominantly in boys and sometimes girls with autism can present very differently.

[H. Givens · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well-meaning but misguided -- it's like a description of a misguided clinical diagnosis but put into a child's mouth. Autistic people don't conceptualize autism as a list of deficits like this.

[Kathleen]

Neurodivergent content: the first section is narrated by a theoretical, stereotypical autistic child

[Celia · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter was diagnosed this year and this was a quick and helpful guide.

[Jess at Such a Novel Idea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affects my opinion.

I downloaded this book, because of my son's diagnosis of autism. I have been looking for a book I could share with my five year old daughter to help explain what it is my son goes through on a daily basis.

This book definitely hit the high points and did it in a great way -- on one page we get a line drawing with a short illustrated comment on how "Tom" is feeling with the situation. On another we get a bit more in depth. I think this will appeal to many different age groups this way.

I thought the book could have been packaged better -- the drawings and the cover were simplistic and probably wouldn't sell as easily as a sleekly illustrated and designed book would. However, this is definitely a great resource for parents to share with siblings or friends of children with autism. Therapists and teachers (especially those who do inclusion) could also use this as a valuable resource.

[Kayla Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a gem for educators to share with students of all ages. The dual format, half written picture book style, half a little more adult, means that this book is able to be comprehended by anyone who picks it up. The illustrations are simple, the wording is so concise, and the tips the book gives are so worthwhile to share. I love the more adult section in the back too.

This is definitely not a book for anyone who works with children with Autism, it's far too basic, but it can definitely be a helpful tool to explain autism to siblings classmates of a student with autism.

This book is so necessary.

[Beach Mama · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book! It is a simple way for school age children and teachers to begin to understand how a lot of children on the Autism spectrum feel and interact socially. There are plenty of ideas and advice listed in the second half of the book for teachers to help integrate and support children with Autism into the classroom.

* I received a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review via Netgalley *

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.

My son being on the spectrum and having two younger kids I am always looking for books to explain or just help my younger ones understand a little bit more about Autism/Aspergers. This book was so simply written and with Tom's point of view it made it perfect for my kids. There are adult parts in the book, but I don't think professionals would find anything new except maybe a new book to suggest for siblings.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic insight into how an autistic child may think or feel. fantastic coping strategies to use and good book to hand around to friends and family so they can understand your autistic child