Book Recommendations

Hi, I'm Sandy, I am an autism advocate and a primary school teacher who also has Aspergers. I am trying to create awareness of autism in a child friendly way as there are many children who attend all inclusive schools and for me it is important children understand their peers and treat them with the understanding, love and kindness. I had spent a while working on my children's book 'Dear Mum,' while working closely with illustrators to ensure autism was captured as I've known it to be. The lining up of objects, rows, the love of blocks, the session of a particular figure/figures, the fascination of sensory lighting in the room to name the few. 

This is a children’s book, to help raise awareness of autism and to also share and educate not only adults but the younger generation. This book is about a child who is non-verbal and has autism. The only form of communication the child has is through his physical elements such as pointing, pushing and pulling. This book demonstrates the worries and struggles from both a parent and child perspective. The illustrations have been carefully considered to ensure autism was captured as I’ve known it to be. I wanted to share words of comfort for all parents and guardians. I hope this book not only gives you hope but also helps to educate siblings.

Please feel free to follow me on Instagram in which I share my own journey on the spectrum!

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Book - 'Dear Mum'  By Sandy Uppal

Hi, I'm Sandy, I am an autism advocate and a primary school teacher who also has Aspergers. I am trying to create awareness of autism in a child friendly way as there are many children who attend all inclusive schools and for me it is important children understand their peers and treat them with the understanding, love and kindness. I had spent a while working on my children's book 'Dear Mum,' while working closely with illustrators to ensure autism was captured as I've known it to be. The lining up of objects, rows, the love of blocks, the session of a particular figure/figures, the fascination of sensory lighting in the room to name the few. 

This is a children’s book, to help raise awareness of autism and to also share and educate not only adults but the younger generation. This book is about a child who is non-verbal and has autism. The only form of communication the child has is through his physical elements such as pointing, pushing and pulling. This book demonstrates the worries and struggles from both a parent and child perspective. The illustrations have been carefully considered to ensure autism was captured as I’ve known it to be. I wanted to share words of comfort for all parents and guardians. I hope this book not only gives you hope but also helps to educate siblings.

Please feel free to follow me on Instagram in which I share my own journey on the spectrum!

[removed by moderator]

Book - 'Dear Mum'  By Sandy Uppal

I hope your children’s book is successful!

asd_explorer said:

This book is about a child who is non-verbal and has autism.

By the way the term non speaking is preferred by the non speaking autistic community as it reflects the fact that these autistics cannot use mouth words (speech). In contrast, the word verbal refers to language in all forms and therefore the word non verbal is discouraged as it suggests that non speaking communities cannot use or understand language at all, when that is not the case at all. This also leads to the harmful and misleading assumption that non speaking means non thinking.

I hope this makes sense?

If you want to learn about the differences between the terms non speaking and non verbal please read:

https://neuroclastic.com/on-using-nonspeaking-minimally-speaking-or-unreliably-speaking-over-non-verbal-nonspeakers-weigh-in/

You might also be interested in this graphic below about the importance of identity first language as opposed to person first. This means it is advised that you use ‘autistic person’ vs person with autism. This is because the majority of the autistic prefer identity first language: