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Can You See Me?: A powerful story of autism, empathy and kindness

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ZTS2023
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I didn't care for the narrative writing style, because it was often detached and dry, and when parts of the book went on and on without advancing the plot or characters significantly, I sometimes skimmed ahead to the next engaging action.

The reader is supposed to believe that the main character, Tally, is a mainstreamed student at a public middle school, but the way her behavior is portrayed, there is no way she would be mainstreamed, and particularly without an IEP and all her teachers knowing what her needs were, which is not the case in this story. I wanted to see more active representation of Tally’s special interests, her favourite school subject, her hobbies and the things she can do well and bring her joy outside of a context of needing them to recover from meltdowns. Even if there were elements that come across as far-fetched as an adult reader, I think it’s important to give people hope that the world is capable of some kindness and understanding, and that to some extent everyone has struggles they keep to themselves but may just be better at hiding.But also most kids make stupid decisions at that age and say or do things that make no sense, which is why if we are reading this as adults we need to be more careful about projecting our perspective onto it. Diagnosis (I prefer recognition ;-) ) has been an absolute game-changer for my life, and I wish I had known earlier! From a parents point of view it seems really odd that Tally's parents didn't informed the school about her diagnosis and had the extra support in place for her getting around the school and avoiding sensory overloads and making her life that little easier with the transition from primary to secondary school. I wonder if there were more representation like this 15 years ago if kids who read it would be more empathetic towards peers with extra struggles to contend with. However, I deeply identify with Tally's high sensitivity to stimulation and agitation over it, her obsessive-compulsive tendencies, some of her tics, and her constant stress over trying to find some way to appear at least semi-normal, or at least normal enough to fly under the radar.

This book should be very encouraging and helpful to kids who relate to Tally's situations at home and at school, and it is a great tool to help build understanding and empathy among family members, friends, and classmates of children with autism. However I think it's equally important for all teachers, support staff and anyone who works with, or knows, an autistic child to read this book. I guess that is proof the community is not a monolith of people who behave in the exact same way - that is exactly why it is a spectrum condition. As the community often says, if you’ve met one Autistic person, then you’ve met one Autistic person.I love slice-of-life stories, but parts of this were too ordinary and detailed for my tastes, because they didn't tie into the plot or emotional current of the story, or else fulfilled the exact same purpose as a dozen other scenes. Your selection was perfect for our children and what really made the difference was your ability to engage with each child, discuss their interests and help them to choose a suitable book based on your extensive knowledge of the books you were selling.

I'm looking forward to my daughter learning to read better as I will be saving this for her and I think she will really enjoy this and can relate so much.that comes in contact with autistics on a fairly regular basis and your looking for insight and even if your not looking for it, you’ll benefit from reading this book. I will never be a normal person, and my brain will always be different from the average, but I am no longer afflicted with such horrible behavioral and mental issues that I wish I could die. Yourself and Bob are much cherished in our booky world and I personally really appreciate everything that you do. This story follows the experiences of a fictional eleven-year-old girl named Tally who is on the autism spectrum, and who is struggling to adjust to school. Her most humiliating memories however, will never see the light of day – unless she runs out of ideas for her next book.

She doesn't want to not be autistic, because it's part of what makes her Tally, and I completely connect with that from my own different experiences. I found it quite an emotional read, enjoyable and I’ve already recommended it to a friend as I know that she will enjoy it as much as I did.

We also completely brush over the fact Nell made some really nasty comments like Tally being "broken" - and considering this is an internal struggle I have often dealt with to not see that really get properly addressed was heartbreaking. 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.

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