I highly recommend this book for autistic youngsters, their family and any one who wants to gain a better understanding of autism. In my experience, discovering food and chemical sensitivities and changing my exposures changed my life, and I would hate for parents or children who are dealing with behavior issues like mine to read this and think that it's a static, unchanging issue that can't be mitigated or resolved. One thing Tally had that I did not have was the knowledge that she is autistic, she knew - I wish I had known and I wish I had books like this when I was that age. At home, Tally daily has melt-downs in which she screams at her parents and her sister, tells them she hates them, and that her behavior is all their fault, and that she can't help it. A coming-of-age story about learning to celebrate yourself -- and teaching the world to recognize you, too -- perfect for fans of R.

We are even urged to intervene in her family dynamic so that her father accepts and understands her more convincingly. It means she finds it hard to follow instructions from her family as being asked to do something makes her anxious. Are the authors saying it would have been acceptable from him if it was directed at a kid who didn't yet have a diagnosis? It made me feel seen, and it contributed to my reflections about what life was like for me at twelve years old and how profoundly grateful I am that things are completely different now. knowing the kind of teasing that happened towards kids in my school who were known to have developmental disabilities or learning difficulties; the fact that her family constantly get angry at her behaviour but no one would take time to rationally point out in terms Tally can understand that she makes constant demands of people when they can’t make demands of her; or that a child who has been diagnosed while in the school system and has social interaction support needs as substantial as Tally’s wouldn’t be made known to SEN staff in the school and that her teachers would be completely ignorant that she is Autistic to begin with (I know some people might argue with me on the point of her support needs as I have seen someone refer to her as "high functioning":s, but I don’t think Tally is actually that high masking having been diagnosed in Primary and based on my own experiences and knowing the level that I am diagnosed with, Tally definitely needed more support from the adults around her than she gets if she can't even safely leave the house by herself).People think that because Tally's autistic, she doesn't realise what they're thinking, but Tally sees and hears - and notices - all of it. This experience has been fantastic primarily for the children, the school and also for me (professionally).

But this is her first year at Kingswood Academy, and her best friend, Layla, is the only one who knows.As a result it’s difficult to see some of the reviews about Tally being a brat and wondering if that’s how people will see you if this is their representation of Autism in girls. Based on my life experience, I have a hard time with the message that someone has to accept everything about their condition as inevitable and unchanging. However, this attitude can also lead to the risk of accepting acute suffering as part of a packaged deal. However, we are now a little further down the road and I suppose I am more accepting and more than ready to understand my daughter in any way I can.

She tells Tally that if she doesn't leave the worm and come right now, she will go ahead without her. I personally really struggled to relate to her demand avoidance and how that plays out in her relationships because I present almost the completely opposite way on my “spikey profile” to the extent of naive people-pleasing. I was very torn on how to rate this because I jumped constantly between being able to relate to the main character and not finding her very sympathetic at all. The masking she refers to doing at school has been a lifelong struggle and is something I’ve had to push into almost every bubble of my life.Co-author Libby Scott is autistic herself and she is also 11 years old, thus ensuring that the narrative of Can You See Me? New people, new routines, bells, shouting, clusters and communes of people, and whole realms of expectations. Other children Tally’s age need to understand how hard it can be to navigate change dealing with a condition like ASD and be taught more empathy and kindness. The novel is hit after hit of unpleasant experiences, meltdowns and Tally’s sister saying nasty stuff to her and representation needs to demonstrate the things that make Autistic children wonderful too. However, on the negative side, it bothered me that her mother was so dismissive of Tally's explosions, seeing them as something that the family had to endure.