Empowerment

Autism Empowerment

7–12 years * £12.99 * May 2021 * HB * 32 full colour illustrations * ISBN: 9781787753044

Investigating What Autism Means to You Elaine Brownless Illustrated by Mai-Ann Burns “Dear Kit and Scully, your mission is to learn about autism. On this quest you will need to investigate the human brain and learn about diversity.”

What do you know about autism? Whether you know a little or a lot, you are invited to explore your understanding of the autism spectrum and discover something new by joining detectives Scully and Kit on their investigation. As Scully and Kit interview six ordinary children, follow the clues and see if you can guess which of them are autistic. This book puts the spotlight on six children that openly talk about their experiences at school and at home. By the end of the book, two children reveal what autism means to them. Read this alone or with an adult and learn about autism, diversity, how we are all unique and what we all share.

– Dr Glòria Durà-Vilà, NHS and Private Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, author of My Autism Book, The Amazing Autistic Brain and Me and my PDA.

In this story you are going to meet my owners, Kit and Scully. They are amateur detectives who love to solve different mysteries. You are invited to join them on their newest case and put your own detective skills into action.

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An autism brain interprets the world and other people differently. It processes sensory information and emotions differently, often more intensely.

An autism brain can be capable of incredible levels of attention and perceive details that others miss. There are scientists, engineers, designers, artists, writers, musicians, teachers, parents and more who are on something called the autism spectrum.

Hang on, I’m going to look up the autism spectrum. Autism sounds really interesting so far but there’s a lot to understand.

Autism was first officially identified and given its name in 1943 by a doctor named Leo Kanner. It was very poorly understood at the time and surprisingly there is still quite a lot of confusion, disagreement and misunderstanding. However, through scientific research and incredible real-life stories, people are now better at recognizing the strengths and advantages of autism.

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We asked all the children to tell us about their hobbies and interests.

Reena I’m mad about cats; I love collecting cat things and I have a cat-themed bedroom. I have two cats called Jasper and Frisbee. I like to read, draw and do crafty activities in my spare time. I also like to watch TV. I’m learning to play the piano and I like cooking and baking with my mum.

I especially like frogs, bugs and birds. My dad has helped me build a wildlife area in our garden. There is a pond, an insect hotel and plants that bees like. I put food out for the birds and a total of twenty-one different species of bird have visited my back garden. I once saw a hedgehog, too. I like reading books about nature.

Jack I really like playing on my games console, riding my bike and playing in the street with my friends. I like going to the cinema and watching TV. I play rugby and go to a swimming club every week. I sometimes like to design and draw comics.

I’ve been doing some reading, Kit. Listen to this. An autism brain can be really good at noticing details and patterns, likes predictability and is brilliant at focussing on things of interest.

An autism brain can be especially good at locking attention onto things of high interest and less good at pulling that attention away. People on the spectrum may find it incredibly difficult to concentrate on things they find boring but often become experts in things they find interesting.

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It’s 5 p.m. at Mission Not-So-Impossible headquarters. Detective team Kit and Scully receive their latest assignment.

Dear Kit and Scully, Your task is to learn about autism. For this case, you will need to investigate the human brain and learn about diversity. Six children have volunteered to participate and put your detective skills to the test. This mission is not top secret and this message will not self-destruct. Good luck! Agent E

Sounds intriguing. Let’s get started right away!

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BLAH, BLAH Autistic people can really struggle too. Especially with communication and social interaction.

LOOK AT ME!

BANG!

WOOF!

In situations when an autism brain receives too much information to process at once, it causes the person to experience overload, stress and anxiety.

One very important job of the brain is to filter and organize the incoming information that our senses receive. Our brain then decides what information we can ignore and what we should pay attention to. An autism brain can find this process difficult.

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Clue Pages

I like to watch TV or play on my computer. I really love football: playing it and watching it. I’m in an under-elevens football club and I usually play midfield; we play every Saturday morning and do training during the week. I like to ride my bike and go walking and climbing with my dad.

Lara I love art, drawing and crafts, and I especially like designing clothes and pretending that I’m a fashion designer. I like watching TV and videos online, and I like to play games on my phone or laptop. I like listening to music, singing, swimming and trampolining.

My favourite hobby is gaming; I play on my console every day. Sometimes I play on my own but it’s better playing online with friends. I like watching movies. I like looking after my dog; I take her for a walk every day and she sleeps on my bed. I sometimes play outside if the boys in my street call for me.

Ah, autistic people love routine! They might have fewer hobbies because they’re spending heaps of time doing the things that they enjoy the most.

An autism brain can struggle to think flexibly and problem-solve in new situations and find it hard to adjust when routines are broken. Sometimes autistic people have routines that are not obvious or necessary to others but they help the person to feel organized, in control and calm.

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Autism Empowerment

BESTSELLER 12–18 years * £12.99 * Mar 2020 * PB * 16 B&W cartoons * ISBN: 9781787751835

How to Grow Up Awesome and Autistic Siena Castellon Foreword by Temple Grandin The ultimate advice guide for autistic teenage girls, written by an award-winning autistic teen campaigner. With practical tips on friendships, dating, mental health, bullying and school life to help you overcome any challenge.

“Siena has articulated the details of life that can be used as a blueprint for girls on the spectrum. She has powerfully illustrated many important concepts on how to focus on strengths and interests to build a healthy identity. This book is a gift not only to girls on the spectrum but also others who care about them. This book will be a great resource for neurodiverse girls, their parents and providers.”

– Lawrence Fung, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Stanford Neurodiversity Project and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University

BESTSELLER 5–11 years * £9.99 * Apr 2015 * HB * 20 colour illustrations * ISBN: 9781849056342 * Rights sold: Spanish

A book for young girls with autism spectrum conditions Danuta Bulhak-Paterson Illustrated by Teresa Ferguson

An illustrated story book for girls with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) aged approximately 5 years to 11 years, to help them understand their diagnosis and their differences and strengths * £9.99 * Dec 2013 * HB * 38 colour * ISBN: 9781849054386 * Rights sold: Indonesian

Beautifully illustrated picture book to help parents to explain an autism diagnosis to their child in a sensitive, positive and accurate way

BESTSELLER 6–11 years * £9.99 * Mar 2019 * PB * ISBN: 9781785928727

Illustrated book explaining autism from a child’s point of view

BESTSELLER 5–12 years * £6.99 * Jul 2008 * PB

* * ISBN: 9781843108917 * Rights sold: Italian, Turkish

A Book for Children Who Find Themselves Frustrated by Everyday Rules Laurie Leventhal-Belfer Illustrated by Luisa Montaini-Klovdahl

Suggestions and solutions for dealing with the everyday frustrations of children with AS when things don’t go their way!

BESTSELLER 2–7 years * £6.99 * Nov 2008 * HB * ISBN: 9781843109006 * Rights sold: Arabic, Chinese (simplified), Greek, Turkish

A Story about Trouble with Toilet Training Jane Whelen Banks Liam Goes Poo in the Toilet illustrates the relationship between eating and excreting. It provides visual instructions on how to “relax and push”. After much fanfare, Liam finally masters going ‘poo’ in the toilet, and both he and Mum bask in the glory of a job well done.

BESTSELLER 3–11 years * £12.99 * Aug 2012 * HB * 48 color * ISBN: 9781849058711 * Rights sold: Arabic, Chinese (simplified), Turkish

Teaching Social and Physical Boundaries to Kids Hunter Manasco Illustrated by Katharine Manasco The rules of physical contact can be tricky to grasp. This friendly picture book explains in simple terms how to tell the difference between acceptable and inappropriate touch, helping children with special needs stay safe.

“Clearly illustrated, with a healthy dose of appropriate humour for a potentially awkward and embarrassing subject matter, this book is brilliantly plain and simple. The illustrations will help children, parents and practitioners to convey the social norms that surround and govern physical interactions, without denying children the affection and reassurance that appropriate touch can give.”

– Early Years Educator (eye)

7–11 years * £12.99 * Jun 2020 * HB * ISBN: 9781787753808

An Interactive Kids’ Book for Understanding Autism Debby Elley and Tori Houghton Illustrated by J.C. Perry

Picture book for autistic children (age 7–11) explaining individual autistic traits through the colourful and fun medium of building an ice-cream sundae

This is a book for children aged 7–11 that explains the different ways autistic brains work. The book uses ice cream flavours to represent various aspects of autism such as difficulties with language, social interaction and rigidity of thinking. It includes illustrations and workbook activities to help children cement their understanding of autism.

– Kathy Hoopmann, Author of All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome and All Birds Have Anxiety

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