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Everybody Is Different: A Book for Young People Who Have Brothers or Sisters With Autism
Many brothers and sisters of young people have a hard time understanding what autism is and why their siblings with autism spectrum disorder do what they do. This book gives answers to the many questions brothers and sisters have about their siblings. In addition to explaining in basic terms the characteristics of autism, this book is full of helpful suggestions for making family life more fun and comfortable for everyone. The many illustrations make this a warm and accessible book for young people.
84 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 16, 2019
I hope this will help my other kids understand their little brother. It is a fast and easy read yet breaks hard behaviors down into easy to understand definitions. I definitely recognized some things I do in there too.
March 16, 2020
This guide is short and concise (also very readable, even for elementary schoolers!), but even then, I learned a lot.
Here are some notes:
I. What is autism?
1. If your brother or sister has autism, it simply means that he or she needs extra help to learn and understand better.
2. An autistic person needs a lot of time and help to understand what is going on in the world. Even if a lot of things make sense for us, they might be confused and frustrated, or they might want to hide away. Sometimes, they might be upset because they are unable to explain what is bothering them.
II. An autistic person struggles with 3 main skills: communicating, making friends, and seeing others' perspectives.
1. Communicating - understanding facial expression, interpreting non-verbal clues; this can lead autistic individuals to not want to be involved at all
2. Making friends and being sociable - conforming to social conventions, understanding others' feelings; might be completely unaware of what has caused upset, may not mind others not wanting to be friends and prefer being in his or her own 'safe' world; might not care at all what others think
3. Seeing others' perspectives - empathy, finding common interests
III. The why behind common behaviors:
1. Asking the same question over and over again - a) anxiety gets in the way of hearing the answer b) same answers creates safety
2. Preferring to be alone - others are too quiet, too noisy, too confusing
3. Covering ears, eyes, or head - a) block out the world in a noisy area (ex. shopping center) b) sensitivity to noise (very good hearing)
4. Taking out anger on others - might be only way to express unhappiness
IV. Takeaways for siblings:
1. Something to remind ourselves of every day: whatever it is that causes autism, it is not anybody's fault.
2. I struggled a lot when I was younger (and even now) when my brother was held to a different standard than I was. Here's the book's take on this issue: "People with autism need different rules to help them overcome their difficulties. You may understand more and may be more responsible than your brother or sister, so it is important that you live within the ordinary rules in society."
3. You can feel frustrated, lonely, left out, angry, upset. All of those feelings are valid. "Normal" family is complicated, and you might be expected to act older than you are. But you are not less important or less loved than your brother or sister. It's just that people rely on you and trust you to do things by yourself because your brother or sister needs more time to do even simple, everyday things.
4. Keep a running list of things that work well and things that irritate you.
5. Set aside a time each week with you and your parents that is 'your time,' and try to allot time for yourself, too.
6. You will always be an important part of your brother or sister's life, even if he or she is never able to say this to you now. By making sense of your own emotions and feelings (and trying to understand your sibling), you will develop better understanding of how people think, in addition to communication skills, patience, and empathy.
Here are some notes:
I. What is autism?
1. If your brother or sister has autism, it simply means that he or she needs extra help to learn and understand better.
2. An autistic person needs a lot of time and help to understand what is going on in the world. Even if a lot of things make sense for us, they might be confused and frustrated, or they might want to hide away. Sometimes, they might be upset because they are unable to explain what is bothering them.
II. An autistic person struggles with 3 main skills: communicating, making friends, and seeing others' perspectives.
1. Communicating - understanding facial expression, interpreting non-verbal clues; this can lead autistic individuals to not want to be involved at all
2. Making friends and being sociable - conforming to social conventions, understanding others' feelings; might be completely unaware of what has caused upset, may not mind others not wanting to be friends and prefer being in his or her own 'safe' world; might not care at all what others think
3. Seeing others' perspectives - empathy, finding common interests
III. The why behind common behaviors:
1. Asking the same question over and over again - a) anxiety gets in the way of hearing the answer b) same answers creates safety
2. Preferring to be alone - others are too quiet, too noisy, too confusing
3. Covering ears, eyes, or head - a) block out the world in a noisy area (ex. shopping center) b) sensitivity to noise (very good hearing)
4. Taking out anger on others - might be only way to express unhappiness
IV. Takeaways for siblings:
1. Something to remind ourselves of every day: whatever it is that causes autism, it is not anybody's fault.
2. I struggled a lot when I was younger (and even now) when my brother was held to a different standard than I was. Here's the book's take on this issue: "People with autism need different rules to help them overcome their difficulties. You may understand more and may be more responsible than your brother or sister, so it is important that you live within the ordinary rules in society."
3. You can feel frustrated, lonely, left out, angry, upset. All of those feelings are valid. "Normal" family is complicated, and you might be expected to act older than you are. But you are not less important or less loved than your brother or sister. It's just that people rely on you and trust you to do things by yourself because your brother or sister needs more time to do even simple, everyday things.
4. Keep a running list of things that work well and things that irritate you.
5. Set aside a time each week with you and your parents that is 'your time,' and try to allot time for yourself, too.
6. You will always be an important part of your brother or sister's life, even if he or she is never able to say this to you now. By making sense of your own emotions and feelings (and trying to understand your sibling), you will develop better understanding of how people think, in addition to communication skills, patience, and empathy.
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January 4, 2023My little brother is autistic, so when I was a toddler my parents decided to give this book. At some point it got lost/forgotten, and I never was able to read it. Now, in modern day I was curious about the book and decided to read it. Reading it now really makes me wish that I read this when I was younger. The book made me feel heard and not alone. It walks you through having a sibling with autism, explaining it thoroughly and in a way that makes sense for a young child. I highly recommend this book to any young child that has a sibling with autism.
November 25, 2023
This is a good easy read and great for siblings that have an autistic brother/sister. It explains a lot of what they may see on a daily basis and explains autism really well. Highly recommend and I will have my kiddos read to learn about their sibling more.
I really enjoyed Part 4 and how she asked the sibling that isn't autistic is feeling.
I really enjoyed Part 4 and how she asked the sibling that isn't autistic is feeling.
March 4, 2021
This book is about autism. It can teach you how to understand it in a child's view. Good for siblings and family members to read to children or anyone involved in autism.
August 4, 2015
While this book had a good concept, it felt very dry and repetitive. I basically felt that the author was saying over and over again that "your sibling with autism behaves differently because he/she has autism and that's okay". It may be a better resource for parents to have a discussion with their child than a book that would hold the attention of a child.
April 21, 2010
amazing!!! it's soo true
June 7, 2008
A great book, to help sibling/friends of children on the Autism Spectrum.
April 5, 2017
The book "Everybody is Different" by author Fiona Bleach, published April 1st 2015 is a book that deals with the disability autism. The book is 82 pages and is a great read for everyone but more specifically family members of someone who is autistic. The book gives different suggestions on how to act, and give a stronger insight of the disability. I rated this book so low because I felt it did not necessarily have a good plot.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews