An expert strives to educate children on autism and acceptance
About 1 percent of the world population has autism spectrum disorder. Prevalence in the United States is estimated at 1 in 59 births. More than 3.5 million Americans live with an autism spectrum disorder.
So chances are you know someone with autism. Chances are young children know someone with autism — and because they are children, they are not as well equipped as grownups to understand what that means.
Lynn Booth, who has been working with special needs children for many years, has written ‘That’s Okay: Children with Autism’ to share her experiences in the hope that it will help children understand the differences and likenesses in every person.
An educational read
This delightful story, which is narrated by 10-year-old Jeremy, does a marvelous job of describing the boy’s experience with his young brother Dustin, who was born with autism. Jeremy goes through some of the more interesting characteristics of Dustin — some that most other children will find fascinating. Others they may find a bit unusual, but, as the author gets across, it’s because of how someone with autism processes information and performs tasks.
“He looks like any other kid,” says Jeremy, “but sometimes he doesn’t understand things the way we do. Some kids who have autism can teach themselves another language when they are only eight years old from watching videos on their iPad or remember birthdays of people they don’t even know.”
The book goes on to
describe other incredible feats by autistic children: solving big math problems in their heads, reading chapter books at a young age and remembering certain phases.
Jeremy says that Dustin doesn’t talk much. “But that’s okay.” Sometimes when he is asked a question, he won’t answer it but will tell Jeremy something else. When he gets upset, he is anxious about what will happen next. Change is difficult.
Dispelling myths and unveiling the truth
The book is written in a simple manner that will be easy for children to process and enjoy. The illustrations, also done by the author, enhance the storytelling further.
In ‘That’s Okay,’ Lynn Booth has done us a great service, dispelling myths about people with autism and celebrating them for who they are. This is so important for people to understand at a young age, when children might be prone to respond in uncomfortable or unkind ways when they see unusual behavior or traits in people.
“Every person we see has something special for all of us to learn from. Let us recognize that we are all different just as much as we are all the same. And understand that we need to be kind to each other.”