BOOKSHELF

Same, But Different

By Holly Robinson Peete, RJ Peete and Ryan Elizabeth Peete

Actress and activist Holly Robinson Peete pairs with her twins in this narrative about the challenges and triumphs of being a teen who has autism and the effects on family, school, friends and life.

True Biz

By Sara Novic

The students at the River Valley School for the Deaf just want to hook up, pass their history finals, and have politicians, doctors and their parents stop telling them what to do with their bodies. This is a story of sign language and lip-reading, disability and civil rights, isolation and injustice, first love and loss, and, above all, great persistence, daring and joy.

See ME: The Invisible Autistic Boy

By David Petrovic, author

and illustrator, and Sandy

Petrovic

This book tells a memorable story of a boy who felt invisible until a special peer “saw” him. Sandy and David Petrovic, a mother and son team from Northeast Ohio, have written together and attend speaking engagements to help other families who have children with autism. Kids learn about autism and do puzzles and activities that reinforce the book’s vocabulary and concepts. Underlying messages include the worth of every person, the power of kindness, and acceptance of differences in others and ourselves. petro-autism.com

Best Boy

By Eli Gottlieb

Sent to a “therapeutic community” for autism at age 11, Todd Aaron, now in his 50s, is the “Old Fox” of Payton LivingCenter. Todd attempts an escape to return “home” to his younger brother and to a childhood that now inhabits only his dreams. The book is written in the first-person voice of an autistic, adult man.