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Lindsay (1693 KP) rated House Rules in Books

Feb 8, 2018  
House Rules
House Rules
Jodi Picoult | 2013 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.5 (15 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is strange book. It talks about autism child. It goe really is a novel about a boy that has Asperger Syndrome. It has goes though the life of a boy that has Asperger Syndrome and he has younger brother.

Jacob is accused of murder and they end of going to trail and Jacob acts out and has outburst and everyone doe not understand this quirks. They find out what really happens at the end of the story. Emma is franstic and try to explain about her son condition.
  
Easy read - each chapter is relative to a trait or “issue” with concise thoughts and insights that can be really useful if living or working with autistic people. (2 more)
Thought provoking and moving in ways I hadn’t anticipated.
A book I can share with my eldest daughter and other family members in the hope they can make connections or learn how to better interact with my youngest autistic daughter.
Nothing this book can solve - I’d just like a female perspective too as female autism has other traits and separate difficulties. (0 more)
Insightful!
  
Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019)
Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019)
2019 | Animation, Comedy, Sci-Fi
You will laugh (0 more)
Should do better in the box office (0 more)
Aardman carry on delivering fun funny filns
Aardman make movies that on one hand are just full of a British charm and on the other have a classic slapstick appeal. The new Shaun the Sheep sequel hasn't lost any of its appeal. The alien they introduce is cute and fun and funny. Adults and kids were all laughing out loud such is its accessibility of anyone of any age. I could take a five year old with autism or my grandad to watch this film and both would laugh.
  
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Jules (151 KP) rated Atypical in TV

Nov 24, 2019  
Atypical
Atypical
2017 | Comedy, Drama
Amazing
This show has really opened my eyes on the struggles Autism can cause in every day life. It not only follows Sam and his journey to find love, and then his life changing as he moves on to University, but it also follows a small story line around his parents and his younger sister has her own, fairly prominent story line.

Sam has Autism and doesn't always understand things well. The show really brings into life a few of the problems he may face, and how he deals with them.

Its mostly light-hearted and has a few comical characters, while still being serious at times and helping people understand what is going on.

Casey, Sams sister, understands his autism but always treats Sam as if he doesn't, in a good way. She still treats him with love and affection, but also annoys him and gets on his nerves, just as any sister would do.

The show also follows her story line, of starting in a new school and her track running. The show has some awesome characters, who show full understanding and love and care for Sam. One of the best being Sam's best friend,Zahid. Zahid is a funny and relatable, for the most part, character. He brings humour to the show in new ways, while always looking out for Sam. In ways, he shows Sam how to be 'Normal' though he's rather weird himself.

Zahid is not only Sam's best friend, but also the person he looks up to the most. The two characters have some very moving moments in the show. The show also combats toxic masculinity, with male characters seen crying, expressing feelings and hugging each other and expressing love for each other.

Overall, it is a brilliant show, that is enlightening and full of brilliant characters from all walks of life. It shows some real life problems and how a family deals with them, while taking care of each other. I would tell anyone to watch this and I imagine it would be enjoyed by all.
  
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Andrew Sinclair (25 KP) Nov 25, 2019

I couldn't agree more! It's a wonderful show!

I've been picking up books on Autism since we realized my husband was on the spectrum, in hopes of finding tools to help us manage daily life. He's too busy with school and work to do much reading these days, so I've been doing the research and bringing it to him to discuss. It's led to some enlightening conversations and we've both learned a lot about each other. Cynthia Kim's blog was one I pored over and read parts of to him, and I finally got her book from my library.

One of the things I noticed most was she details social rules in ways I never would have thought to do - she has a list of seven very specific rules for eye contact, for example. As an allistic person, most of those rules are things I do instinctively, without even really knowing the reason for them. Like, in conversation, looking up or to the side means you're thinking, looking down means you're done talking. I read that to my husband and he jumped in, surprised, with "so THAT'S why I get interrupted so much!" I never would have thought to codify that into words, but it's something I naturally do.

She talks about meltdowns vs shutdowns, which are things we've already learned the difference between with my husband, but we're both eager for strategies to avoid, mitigate, and recover from them. She gave some strategies as places to start, but that's hard to give general advice on as every autistic is so very different in that regard.

The chapter on alexithymia was really interesting. Alexithymia being an impairment in identifying and describing emotions. It leads to a lot of "Hey, are you okay?" "I don't know." "Well, how do you feel?" "I DON'T KNOW!" We'd already been introduced to this concept through her blog, but she expands on it in the book.

Another interesting (and applicable!) chapter was the one on executive dysfunction. (We joke that I am my husband's personal assistant - I keep his calendar and remind him of important dates/events/homework due dates, and sometimes nudge him to do things if it seems he's having trouble getting started.)

Kim uses the term Asperger's in her writing (as well as autism), but Asperger's has been rolled into the greater Autism Spectrum Disorder since 2013. Very recently there's been some debate about the Asperger name, as it's been revealed that Hans Asperger at least cooperated with the Nazis, and possibly was one himself. It's still used commonly, though, and there is a large community built around being Aspies. Personally, I think using the Asperger term is a little too divisive - it's basically the same as "high-functioning." But. I'm allistic and my opinion on the matter isn't the important one, so. We use autistic for my husband. (His choice, and when I asked his thoughts, he also thinks the Asperger term is divisive and not useful.) There's a number of Twitter threads and articles on the subject of using or not using the Asperger term, and what it means to the community.

Overall, this was a really great book for learning about how autism affects day-to-day life, and gave us lots of talking points and words for things we didn't have the vocabulary for. I'm looking forward to tackling the rest of my Autism Reading List.

You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
  
Tale of a Tooth
Tale of a Tooth
Allie Rogers | 2018 | LGBTQ+
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book was a little difficult to read for a few reasons. It should come with a trigger warning since it deals with domestic abuse in a realistic manner. That said it was still a well written book. One of the things that made it hard to read was a that the voice of the story is 4 yr old Danny. Everything is told from his point of view and in the way his brain sees it. To me it also seemed Danny was on the autism spectrum so that added a different twist. It is a hard hitting book but definately worth a read.
  
Shtum
Shtum
Jem Lester | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
The cover of this book has statements such as "Ten-year-old Jonah can't speak, but it is time his family listened," and "Jonah has never spoken, yet somehow he communicates better than all of the adults in his life." While Jem Lester's debut novel is about Jonah, a child with severe Autism, it is also about a whole lot more than that. This is why I entitled my review of this book, "The Volumes of Silence" despite the cliché. You'll understand better what I mean, from my review of this wonderful novel here. https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2017/05/27/the-volumes-of-silence/
  
GM
Ginny Moon
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Ginny Moon is 14 years old and she has autism. She has finally found her Forever Family with Brian and Maura after being taken from her Birth Mom, Gloria when she was 9 years old. She was malnourished and badly bruised at that time. Now she has been through several foster homes and is happy to finally be in a permanent spot. But there is still one thing missing that Ginny hasn't seen since she was 9 and the police took her away, her Baby Doll. Ginny took very good care of her Baby Doll and she is afraid that now there is no one to take care of it. How will she find her way back to the Baby Doll she loved so much and took such good care of?

This book hit me from the very firs page. As a mother of a child on the Autism Spectrum, I could really resonate with Ginny's character and her little quirks. Benjamin Ludwig did a great job of capturing this character.

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. I have read a couple of other books about children with autism but this one fit well with me. Ginny is determined to get her way, no matter the cost. She tries hard to explain to everyone about her Baby Doll. Her therapist, her foster parents, her Forever Parents, but no one seems to understand. No one that is except for Gloria, Ginny's Birth mother. When Ginny is finally able to get in contact with her, she is happy to find out that Gloria still has her Baby Doll and is taking care of it. And her cousin Crystal with C is helping out as well. Even though everyone tries to buy Ginny a new doll, nothing will be able to replace the Baby Doll she took care of for a whole year in the apartment with Gloria.

I'm afraid if I say too much more, I will give away too much of the story. Please read this book, it will touch your heart.
  
VN
Viral Nation (Viral Nation, #1)
7
6.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
3½ out of 5 stars

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hmm…

Well lets start with the cover. It’s amazing; really eye-catching and appropriate to the story. If I’m honest, it’s what drew me to the book in the first place.

Then the plotline: It sounded very interesting, which is the second thing I go for in a book, first the cover then the synopsis. I didn’t realise at the time that it sounds a bit like Acid by Emma Pass, another book I’ve reviewed recently, though it was minus the time-travelling and the autistic girl.

Speaking of, this is the first book I’ve ever read where the character has had “special needs”, though I’m not a fan of that phrase. Clover has autism and struggles with a few things, like crowded places and people arguing.

I’ve never really known anyone who has had autism so it was interesting reading it from the characters perspective and how she has to escape almost into herself to overcome these “issues” and how her dog helped her by applying a gentle pressure to her to anchor her in the here and now.

Up to about the 20% mark I was really liking the story and then it got a little boring and then at about the 35% mark it got interesting again. If a longer book cant keep my interest, I wont carry on reading and luckily for this one, it got good just as i was getting bored. That sounds harsh, but this is an honest review. Anyway, after that point I was really intrigued and almost couldn’t put it down.

I enjoyed it and trying to work out the mystery that was unfolding before me with every page.

If you like young adult dystopian books then you will most definitely like this one.
  
Marcelo has Autism. His father has given him a very important choice. In order to keep attending his private school he must break from his routine and work with his father at the law firm for the summer. If he is able to make it and survive "the real world" then he can continue to go to his school. If not than he must attend public school.
Marcelo is assigned to work in the mailroom with Jasmine. They quickly become allies in the firm. Marcelo also has to work with Wendell, the other partners son. When Marcelo finds a picture of a girl in some files Wendell has asked him to go through, he sets out on a quest to find and help this girl. With Jasmine's help, Marcelo accomplishes a lot more than he expects to in one summer.