The thing about monotropic, single-channel thinking is that it is a neutral and natural variation—neither inherently better or worse than any other modes of being in the world.
Let’s talk about some great kidlit books with autistic representation. There are so many more that could be included—but these are some of my favorites.
All the Noise at Once tackles so many issues with such care and thought, including racism, classism, and class segregation, the stress of excellence and being a “model citizen,” family expectations, ableism and neurodivergent treatment in a neurotypical world, police brutality, and power imbalances.
The Fire, The Water, and Maudie McGinn is an absolutely wonderful, important book for kids that don’t have a voice and may not be able to identify abuse or know how to talk about it. Fantastic for autistic and allistic readers alike.
It felt good to read an autistic character who is so different from me, and yet very relatable in how she experiences and processes the world.
Reading A Kind of Spark, I felt a part of myself represented and explained on the page that I’d never seen anywhere else before. I feel so much for Addie, the 12-year-old autistic main character: How she puts herself in the historical stories of witches, and how the injustice of their history upsets her, while others seem detached.
![Book cover with an orange background. An illustration of the lower halves of five folks is at the top: A yellow guide dog, a person with brown skin using a cane, a person with brown skin standing with their hand on their hip, a person with white skin and crossed ankles standing with their hand on their hip, and a person with brown skin using a wheelchair.]](https://thinkingautismguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/WeMoveTogether-9200854.jpeg)
We Move Together should be in every library that children have access to. It should be read to classes—I think it is appropriate for any elementary school age or even middle schoolers.
Knowing Why is a valuable resource for anyone who has been through the process of being diagnosed or self-diagnosed as autistic in adulthood, anyone who wants to better understand us, and anyone who might be wondering if they might be autistic themselves.
I can definitely see how people who don’t know many autistic people (and you should, because we’re awesome!) would benefit from reading LaZebnik’s book.
When you see a child in an inclusion class, think of Rosemary. When you read this, an article written by a person with a developmental disability, think of Rosemary. These are her legacies, this is what she leaves behind.
