Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon; eBook 2003 Edition. An Extended Book Review with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker

(4% indicates the eReader book location, instead of page reference numbers).

< My Thoughts >       This story is a wonderful work of fiction about a 15-year-old savant mathematically gifted Autistic boy who decides to investigate the murder of a neighbor’s dog and eventually uncovers disturbing information about his parents. The author, Mark Haddon has prevailed at finding his way into the mind of this Autistic character.
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4%  The police woman put her arms round Mrs. Shears and led her back toward the house. I lifted my head off the grass.

The policeman squatted down beside me, “Would you like to tell me what’s going on here, young man?” he asked.
I sat up and said, “The dog is dead.” 
“How old are you?” he asked.
I replied, “I am 15 years and 3 months and 2 days.”
“And what, precisely, were you doing in the garden?” he asked.
“I was holding the dog,” I replied.
“And why were you holding the dog?” he asked.
“I like dogs,” I said.

< My Thoughts > This is HORSE BOY book #2 (Book #1 The Horse Boy Extended Review with < My Thoughts > can be found on my HOME Page Navigation Menu.) Take The Long Ride Home, with Rupert Isaacson. As you read, you’ll be filled with hope and a sense of adventure. I didn’t want to give too much away, but I wanted you to feel as uplifted as I did reading this story.
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The Long Ride Home: The Extraordinary Journey of Healing That Changed a Child’s Life, by Rupert Isaacson; eBook 2015 Edition; an Extended Review with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker

(2% indicates the eReader book location, instead of page reference numbers).

2%       Tantrums like tsunamis, like storm fronts moving in from nowhere, erupting even in sleep. No language. My son floating away from me, absent, not there. So tantalizingly affectionate one moment and so lost the next.

1%       The shaman Ghoste once told me, “Rowan will become gradually less autistic until his ninth year. Then, if you follow instructions, his autism will get less and less, and gradually disappear. But the stuff that’s been driving you crazy, the incontinence, the tantrums, these things will end now. From today.”

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The Horse Boy: A Father’s Quest to Heal His Son by Rupert Isaacson, eBook 2009 Edition; an Extended Review with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker

(2% indicates the eReader book location, instead of page reference numbers).

2%       I did notice one thing: my son became better outdoors. He tantrummed less, seemed happier, more ‘present’. So we spent hours and hours exploring the little trails in the woods behind our house in the Texas countryside.

< My Thoughts >       “I did notice one thing: my son became better outdoors.”
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Parents can begin by providing simple outdoor activities with their child, to eventually include siblings. Start with walking to visit a nearby park, or neighbor. Or, by simply creating a walking path in the yard for the whole family to enjoy. If your child responds to this, then you may want to include it in their daily routine.

Learn more about Kristin, Rupert, & Rowan Isaacson & their therapy program on –
 
https://www.horseboyworld.com/about-horse-boy/about-horse-boy-new-trails/trainers-team/1-rupert-isaacson
 
Resources for parents on:
horseboyworld.com and kidsmustmove.com

3500: An Autistic Boy’s Ten-Year Romance with Snow White, by Ron Miles, eBook 2013 Edition; an Extended Review with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker  

(2% indicates the eReader book location, instead of page reference numbers). Ron’s (Ben’s dad) Author Note >
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2%       Much of this book has been constructed based on contemporaneous journal entries or blog posts I wrote at the time these things happened. A significant part of this book is based purely on my (author Ron Miles) memories of past events.
 
While it was Walt Disney World and Snow White’s Scary Adventures that provided the fulcrum to move Ben’s world, to a very large degree it has been the dedicated educators who have given us the lever to take advantage of that opportunity.
 
< End of excerpts from Ron’s (Ben’s dad) Author Note >
 
< My Thoughts > This was an ode to the world of Disney, a magical place and a magical boy named Ben. Much of this book has been constructed based on contemporaneous journal entries. Many parents keep a journal of their family’s journey with autism.

Child’s Journey Out of Autism: One Family’s Story of Living in Hope and Finding a Cure by Leeann Whiffen, eBook 2009 Edition; an Extended Review with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker

(8% indicates the eReader book location, instead of page reference numbers).
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8%     Thomas the Tank Engine has taken over his mind. But he is especially fanatical about James, the red engine. He has several Thomas movies we rotate. I feel a pang of guilt each time I let him watch one, but sometimes it’s the only way I can get anything done. I think it’s probably just a phase.
 
9%     Mom turns and watches Clay. “Leeann, he doesn’t seem to even notice we’re here.” I swallow. My throat sticks. I swallow again. I know he’s different.
 
< My Thoughts >            “Thomas the Tank?”

For children with autism, the character, Thomas the Train and Friends, is extremely popular. Some say it’s because the story line is so predictable and rhythmic. While others believe that the character’s emotions, while difficult to ‘read’ for children with autism, are easily ‘read’ on the ‘train character’s’ faces. If the child ‘perseverates’ on the Thomas character, exclusively without being entertained by other childhood favorites, as most children are; then that may be a concern.

Children with autism are often attracted to objects arranged in lines, such as cars and trains. Some parents report first words as being an echoing of lines from the DVD. “Stop, the signal is up!” “Apply the brakes!” These are also common phrases heard from children with autism who engage in Echolalic speech.  
Retrieved online from –  http://www.myfavoritetoy.com/autism_thomas.htm1/

All I Can Handle: I Am No Mother Teresa: A Life Raising Three Daughters with Autism 
by Kim Stagliano & Jenny McCarthy, eBook 2010 Edition; an Extended Review with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker

(7% indicates the eReader book location, instead of page reference numbers).

7%       Having a child with autism is like a giant game of chess. You need to think several moves ahead to ward off potential problems.
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9%       Before I really knew what was going on with my first two daughters, Mia and Gianna, I had an incident that, in hindsight, was where I veered off the Suburban Mommy Street and onto the Autism Autobahn. After reading about our lives, you’re sure to feel better about yourself. That’s promising, isn’t it?

No You Don’t – Essays from an Unstrange Mind by Sparrow Rose Jones, eBook 2013 Edition; an Extended Review with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker
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​(28% indicates the eReader book location, instead of page reference numbers).
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28%   Introduction: “I am not a different species, an alien creature, a changeling, a robot, a freak of nature, my mind is ‘unstrange’. I am a familiar word, pronounced with a different accent. I am your mother’s recipe prepared by a stranger. I am your favorite song, recorded by a new artist.  I am a human being; I am Autistic.”
 
Have you ever spent half the day lost in the beauty of watching how water moves?  Have you ever solved a Rubik’s Cube in less than a minute?
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41%   They say we have an “epidemic” of autism, a veritable tsunami of Autistic kids.
 
43%   We are Autistics and we are better off when you focus your energy on helping us to be the best Autistics we can be.  If we look “funny,” people will learn to handle that.  They will get used to that.
 
9%     Eye contact is very intense, very personal and … honestly?  It’s kind of sexual.  It is painful and embarrassing to look into someone’s eyes unless I am deeply connected with them.
 
< My Thoughts >       “Eye contact is very intense, very personal and … honestly?  It’s kind of sexual.”
 
The literature reflects that among individuals with autism, eye contact may serve as a threatening stimulus leading to avoidance behavior.

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Autism Triplet Twist: Survival Stories of Parents, Triplets and Autism by James E. Potvin, eBook 2013 Edition; an Extended Review with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker

(6% indicates the eReader book location, instead of page reference numbers).

6%       I have lived this story and been able to make sense out of chaos. I am the father of triplets. Our triplets are all fraternal girls. Our story is unique and different. I have been told by friends, family and total strangers that I should write a book. This is that book!

19%     Sarah is the youngest of our triplets. From her mini seizures early on, it was clear that Sarah had issues. She made little eye contact. She did not want to play with the toys in the room. She made some odd noises and flapped like an eagle. She did not look to us for guidance. She enjoys long car rides and going out for French fries.

27%     Andrea is the oldest triplet. She was very calm when she was young. She was the kind of kid that would be content to watch TV all day. She could sit and play with the same toy for hours. Andrea kept herself occupied most of the time. Andrea was autistic; she was just at a different spot of the autism spectrum than Sarah.

83%     Rachael, the middle triplet was still normal. At this point, we realized that having one child with autism was expensive. Having two children with autism requires serious financial planning. Rachael is much more social. She plays the viola and is in Color Guard. We support her by taking her to viola practices and attending her concerts. Rachael enjoys reading and her pets. She has a dog, a ferret, a chinchilla and a hamster.

All the triplets are individuals, so we find it important to have special activities to do with each child.

​​Paula’s Journal: Surviving Autism by Stephanie R. Marks, eBook 2012 Edition; an Extended Review with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker

(1% indicates the eReader book location, instead of page reference numbers).

1%       My name is Stephanie Marks and I have autism. I am 38 years old, dark curly hair, bright green eyes. I have tiny, slender feet and I am very short. I am non-verbal. I look like other people you meet. I love to laugh and I often pray.

Autism controls my life and I can never change that. The monster called autism might jump into my thought pattern at any time and disrupt the flow of my thoughts. 
 
2%      I love trains.  I love the click clack. I love the repetition. I love the predictability. Click clack, click clack. I know what to expect. Click clack, click clack. Coming down the tracks.

< My Thoughts >       “I love trains… I love the click clack.”
Stephanie’s (aka Paula) love of trains required ‘real’ trains, train stations, and train schedules. Her love of the ‘click clack’ adds rhythm and repetitious charm to her story, which helps us understand her kind of autism.

Susan Moffitt shares, “Many children with autism have a well-documented interest in trains, enthralled by their motion and predictable patterns.” Retrieved online from – http://www.autismkey.com/trains-and-autism/

Spinning In Circles & Learning from Myself: A Collection of Stories by Tsara Shelton, eBook 2015 Edition; with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker

(11% indicates the eReader book location, instead of page reference numbers).

11%     One morning not too long ago, my youngest son got up at six a.m., made himself some breakfast, got dressed, brushed his teeth, deodorized and combed his hair.  Then he stepped outside to play with the dogs. That was when I knew he was struggling with going to school.
 
After playing with the dogs he looked at me and said, “I just can’t go to school today. I have low self-esteem, and my elbow hurts.”  Yea, so he stayed home.
 
< My Thoughts >     “…I have low self-esteem, and my elbow hurts.”  
 
How endearing is that statement! How many times as a teacher, have I wanted to say something similar when facing the school day!
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Myers, et al. (2011) tell us that when a child feels clumsy or is not feeling popular that day, they tend to socially isolate themselves. This in turn leaves the child facing bullying and further social exclusion by their peers. We don’t want to ‘fix’ them, but we do want to reduce the likelihood for later depression, anxiety and other uncomfortable states.

Reference

Meyers, J., Ladner, J., Koger, S. (2011). More than a Passing Grade: Fostering Positive Psychological Outcomes for Mainstreamed Students with Autism; Journal of Physical Disabilities; Vol. 23, p515-526.