Book clinic: which books help kids with Asperger's to understand others?

Q: My 11-year-old son has Asperger’s and finds relating to others and understanding social conventions very difficult. Which children’s novels would best give him an insight into how other people work?
Anonymous, 44, Cardiff

A: Jasbinder Bilan is the author of Asha & the Spirit Bird, winner of the 2019 Costa Children’s Book award. She writes:

Understanding each other and why we do things is a challenge for most teenagers, so when this tough phase of life is coupled with an additional need such as Asperger’s, novels can help us learn. Living life through your character’s eyes develops empathy. Reading together gives a chance to discuss the story and ask the all-important question – what would you do in their shoes?

First up is a classic, and one that my boys loved: Michael Morpurgo’s Alone on a Wide Wide Sea. The beauty of this story of an orphan travelling alone to Australia is the number of new people and situations Arthur encounters, and how he deals with them.

The Boy With the Butterfly Mind by Victoria Williamson gives an insight into the lives of Jamie, who has ADHD, and Elin as they navigate family dynamics and take on huge changes, helping each other accept themselves for who they truly are.

The teen years are all about confidence, so Step Into Your Power by Jamia Wilson is a wonderful manual to help you become the person you want to be. Use it to discuss what’s important to your son and help him navigate his world.

When Fred, Con, Lila and Little Max’s plane divebombs and crashes in the Amazon, they have to work together if they are to survive. Katherine Rundell’s The Explorer gives the chance to travel to a new world full of excitement and danger, in this story of adventure and friendship.

Now or Never: A Dunkirk Story by Bali Rai is based on true events. It follows Fazal Khan of Company 32 on a journey from his home in northern India to the battlefields of France during the second world war.

Finally, social justice is something that provokes strong feelings in children, and Here I Stand, written by a range of outstanding children’s authors, gives a chance to travel deeper into the lives of young people and their liberties, exploring some hard-hitting but necessary themes.

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