Recommended Picture Book: Hind's Hands a story about autism

Title: Hind’s Hands A Story About Autism

Author: Umm Juwayriyah and Juwayriyah Ayed

Illustrator: Emma Apple

Publisher: Muslim Writers Publishing; April 3, 2012

Suitable for: 4 and up

Themes/Topics: Autism, Siblings,  Coping Skills, Disabilities: Autism

Opening: 

As salamu alykum! My name is Juwayriyah and I am nine years old. I have a little sister named Hind! She's almost five and boy, is she something else.

Book Summary:

Hind’s Hands is a story told by a big sister who learns coping skills to befriend and lead her autistic younger sister. "You see, my sister Hind has Autism. And I know that sounds like a really big word, but it's not. Autism just means that Allah made her to learn and act and think differently than other kids her age." In the story Hind's Hands, big sister Juwayriyah learns just how special her younger sister is, despite the challenging behaviors that she often has to deal with. Author Umm Juwayriyah collaborates with her oldest daughter, Juwayriyah Ayed on this book to help spread awareness about Autism.

Links to resources:

I could not find any resources from the author’s site but here are some links for more information about autism. What is Autism? Here are ten facts about autism. KidsHealth is a wonderful site that explains Autism to children using simple language and facts. Autism Speaks is another site with great resources for people with autism including apps. About.com Home-schooling has many activities including a word search, coloring pagesone & two, vocabulary, crossword puzzle, fill in the blank Q&A, bookmarks and more.  

Why I like this book:

What I really like about this book is that while it gives some general information about autism it does not generalize autism. You can't generalize autism. How one child or person with autism behaves is different than how another may. Yes, there are some characteristics that they all share, but they are just as much individuals as the rest of us. My oldest brother has autism and while he also has many characteristics as Hind, he is also very much different and his technique of calming himself is different. This is a VERY sweet tale about a sibling and how she learns to deal with her younger sibling with a disability. I commend the authors for sharing their story of love, patience, family and autism.