Book Review: My Friend with Autism

Bishop, Beverly. My Friend with Autism. Arlington, Texas: Future Horizons Inc., 2002.

The book My Friend with Autism was designed for anyone who is “being introduced to autism.” The pages of the book are black and white with simple texts that describe a boy and his strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes. The story follows a boy and his friend with autism as they engage in different activities at school and home with other children. They used scooters to get to school and played football on the playground.

The book describes many similarities between children and children with autism spectrum disorder. The book also describes ways that people without autism can assist and help friends with autism. There is an appendix in the back of the book that the author says is intended to give adults involved in the life of a person with autism, enough understanding to guide typical children “into meaningful relationships with an autistic child.” This guide breaks down page-by-page the many different things discussed in the book, like enhanced vision, taste, touch, hearing smell, as well as pretending, intelligence, sharing, change, feelings, etc.

The author, Beverly Bishop, wrote the book to help her son, who is special needs, fit in with his peers and build understanding among her son’s classmates, teachers, and friends. Because she has a son with autism, she is considered an insider to this group of people with disabilities. While she doesn’t have autism, she lives with the daily trials and tribulations of the disability.

This book is a piece of diverse literature because it describes in a positive way the life of a person with autism. The book points out many similarities between children and children with autism. It also incorporates ways people who have friends with disabilities can include them in social situations and help them when and if needed. In the back of the book, there is a guide that describes why a friend with autism would have “special skills” like oversensitive hearing or taste as well as the problem people with autism have with certain social skills like sharing, pretending, and talking. The pages of the book are also black and white because the author wanted to allow for readers to color their own pictures. This is unique in that there is no race depicted in the book, making it devoid of racial stereotypes of people with autism.