Making friends can be a challenge for all children, but those with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) can struggle more than most. This collection of ten fully illustrated stories explores friendship issues encountered by children with ASD aged 4 to 8 and looks at how they can be overcome successfully. Key problem areas are tackled, including sharing, taking turns, being a tattletale, obsessions, winning and losing, being taken advantage of, jealousy, personal space, personal hygiene, tact and diplomacy, and defining friendship. The friendly story format depersonalises issues, allowing children to see situations from the perspective of others and enabling them to recognise themselves in the characters. This opens the door to discussion, which in turn leads to useful insight and strategies they can practise and implement in the future. Each story has a separate introduction for adults which explains the main strategies within it. This book will be a valuable resource for all teachers and parents of children with ASDs, along with their friends and families, and anybody else looking to help children with ASDs to understand, make and maintain friendships.

Table of Contents

Introduction.; 1. The Dinosaurs: a story about starting school and learning to share. Overview. Story.; 2. Spit and Chase: a story about joining in playground games. Overview. Story.; 3. Golden Hour: a story about winning/losing, taking turns and managing anger. Overview. Story.; 4. Timothy Tattletale: a story about when to tell. Overview. Story.; 5. Too Much Thomas the Tank Engine: a story about obsessions. Overview. Story.; 6. Ablutions: a story about personal hygiene. Overview. Story.; 7. Space Invaders: a story about personal space. Overview. Story.; 8. Billy Blunt: a story about using tact and diplomacy. Overview. Story.; 9. The Barbie Club: a story about being taken advantage of. Overview. Story.; 10. The Beach Ball: a story about jealousy and what makes a friend. Overview. Story. Appendix: Useful books and resources.

About the Author

Kay Al-Ghani is a special educational needs teacher who has worked for more than 30 years in the field of education. She is currently a specialist teacher for inclusion support and is involved with training professionals, students and parents in aspects of ASD. As an author and mother of a son with ASD, she has spent the last twenty years researching the enigma that is Autism. Haitham Al-Ghani is 23 years of age. He earned a triple distinction in multimedia studies and was the 2007 winner of the Vincent Lines Award for creative excellence at Hastings College of Arts and Technology. He is an author and illustrator and lives in Hastings, England.