Want to learn more about autism?

There are lots of ways to find and learn about autism, and these are the ways that I am learning from too. Even though I have Asperger's myself, there is still a lot about being autistic that is new to me and I am finding out. So let's find out together. I split the learning into two sections: fiction and non-fiction. I will start with fiction.

Fiction

Of course I will begin with my own children's autism books 'The Rainbow School' and 'The Pet Rescuers' for 7-10 year-olds. The first series you can find out from my website www.julieaday.co.uk and the second series can be found either via The Book Dragon or Amazon. I have yet to organise for my website designer to put them on there. All of them can be found on the Book Dragon website https://www.thebookdragon.co.uk/

I have just bought the 'Geek Girl' series by Holly Smale. Holly is autistic and I believe so is the main character. There is also 'The State of Grace' by Rachael Lucas which is based on her own daughter who is autistic.

Non-fiction

There are a couple of digital magazines that I know of. SEN magazine and Autism Parenting Magazine. I have had one article in the latter and hope to have more, which will be about growing up with autism and how my mum helped me over the years. You can find out more about this magazine here https://members.autismparentingmagazine.com/dap/a/?a=55311&p=AutismParentingMagazine.com/freegift

There are lots of books about autism and how to help autistics in life. Here are a few that I know about and I have read: Dr Temple Grandin, Pete Wharmby, Jane McNeice, Steve Silberman. There is also 'Marching to a different beat' by Sarah Ziegel, a mother of four autistic boys.

There are also groups on Facebook/Meta who offer webinars and training to help autistic adults and children. The ones I know about are The Nurture Progamme by Jodie Isitt, Ausome Training by Evaleen Whelan.

There is one community where there is learning from webinars, training and chat groups with like-minded autistics. That is Neurodiversity Training International. They have a community App called The EndeeSphere App, which I am an ambassador of. There is a free membership, which comes with a 7-day free trial of the paid version to start with. You can find out more about them here https://www.endeesphereapp.com/a/2147773941/zqK5pxow

All of the above are run by autistics themselves, so know what it is like to live as such.

Billy is having a book tour

 Who is Billy, you might ask? He is Billy from my first Rainbow School children's book called 'Billy and the Sparkling Socks.' He, and the others in the series, are all in stock at a bookshop called The Book Dragon based in Stockton on Tees. This week Billy's story is having a book tour. There is a great window display promoting the book (check the website www.thebookdragon.co.uk) and see for yourself. So far this week reviewers have mentioned their favourite quotes and character summaries from the book. Here are a few

Quotes: 

“I am good at something!” Billy shouted. He stood up, scraping his chair back. “What?” Casper challenged him. “Don’t know. I will find out.” (Andrew Bell)

Even though his socks hadn’t acted strange, he had done amazing things today. (Deborah Barwick)
“So my motto is, to find out what makes you happy and what you can be good at and work on that. Only then will you be happy with who you are.” (Tania Marshall)

Character summaries

Billy is a delightful young boy who blossoms throughout the course of the story. Initially he feels frustrated by the limitations he feels due to his condition of Autism. He has an older brother who seems to be good at everything and classmates that make fun of him. As he starts to focus on what he can do and where his talents lie, a transformation starts to happen. By looking for the positives and gaining confidence and faith in his abilities, he starts to shine and gain respect from his mother, teachers and  peers. I felt moved by Billy’s realisation that what he really lacked was self-belief and the courage to be who he truly was. As this dawns on him he starts to fly and fulfill his full potential. I could just picture him telling his stories in class and I could relate to the joy he felt from creating them, as I too loved to do this as a child. I loved how Billy showed warmth and kindness to others, even though he hadn’t always received them himself. He’s willing to help out his brother when he starts to struggle, despite how his brother has mocked him for his own difficulties in the past. (Michelle Marshall)

I related with the character, Billy. Being disabled myself, I know just how hard it is to find something you’re good at. Also, being disabled I can relate how hard it is to fit in, I know what it’s like to be laughed at, I also know the challenge of finding something you’re good at. Being autistic, Billy would’ve had a much bigger challenge in this. I was so impressed with his finding that he could tell stories, act them out, and make people laugh. He didn’t think Miss Murray and his classmates were laughing at him. Good job, Billy! (Deb Hockenberry)

So, I hope that the above will get you interested to either read the book yourself, or buy it for a small relative (7-9) that might want to read it for Christmas. There are now three places you can buy the books: The Book Dragon shop (in store or on line), Amazon or my website.