Critical Article - "Ian's Walk"

Sayers, Bonnie
"Autism Spectrum Disorders Online"
2007
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art33277.asp

In this article, Bonnie Sayers devles into the topic of Autism described in the book "Ian's Walk" by Laurie Lears. Sayers says, "I wish I could afford to hand out Ian’s Walk: A Story about Autism to each person who will come into contact with my son Matthew. The images illustrated in each of the thirty pages by Karen Ritz seem to be taken right out of our daily lives. The author Laurie Lears did a marvelous job conveying autism in an easy to read format that will touch each person who reads through Ian’s Walk: A Story about Autism." She really enjoys this book because she thinks that it is a great educational tool to show and teach people about autism.

In this book review, Sayers gives the plot of the story and what happens to the Ian and his two sisters on their walk through the park. I enjoyed the fact that Sayers brought up the fact that it is difficult for some siblings of children with autism to deal with. They see that everyone can tell that their sibling is different and there comes a time in their lives when they have to stop caring about what other people think and just enjoy their sibling with autism for being who they are.

I believe that Sayers brought up a good point when she says, "For any family affected by autism this is an emotional book that brings out the resentment and feelings of bitterness and jealousy by other siblings moving toward the love and tender feelings they share for one another." I think she brought up the truth, in that not everyone will be immediatly okay with their sibling having autism, and it is a journey to get to a point where they have feelings of love and caring to show towards one another.

I really enjoyed this book review and I think it brought up a lot of interesting facts about autism.