Welcome to the 3rd stop of the In My Mind Virtual Book Tour. If you are a reader of The Bon Bon Gazette you probably already know that I am a huge fan of Adonya Wong and her book, In My Mind: The World Through the Eyes of Autism. Take A look at "In My Mind" to see what happened when I received my autographed copy from Adonya or check out My Epinions.com Review.
My Thoughts:
"Appropriate for children and adults a like. In My Mind... is not 'just another children's book' nor is it 'yet another book about autism'. I believe this book absolutely holds a place both in the autism and special-ed classrooms and on the shelves of every school library." - MT, The Bon Bon Gazette
There's only so many ways for me to say it, I love this book!
As a mother of a child with autism, I immediately felt a bond with the author Adonya Wong when we "met" through reading each other's blogs and then getting to know each other more on twitter. When I learned about the book, I was curious to how she would portrayAutism as envisioned through her son's eyes. The author, Adonya Wong has a son Nicholas who is a happy, healthy, 7 year old boy - close in age to my son Alex (who just turned 8 last month). The child in her book In My Mind (modeled after her son) is shown happy - much like my own son who always seems to have a great smile on his face. This smile that is such a source of joy and strength - that helps get through the bumps in the road of our Autism journey. In a recent news article, she describes her son: affectionate, funny, and artistic. Indeed! This could easily be describing my own Alex. Yes, the boys both have Autism - but there is so much more to them than that. I'm reminded of an old button/bumper sticker saying "See the person, not the disorder". Adonya's book, In My Mind, sheds a much appreciated positive light on Autism.
As part of the Virtual Book Tour, I got to ask Adonya Wong a few questions about In My Mind:
Question 1: How long did it take you to write In My Mind?Adonya Wong: 5 minutes! I'm serious, it only took 5 minutes. One minute, I wasn't even thinking about writing children's stories; the next minute, I've typed one out. I couldn't believe it. Some would call it Divine Intervention. I don't know what to call it myself, all I know is I was minding my own business when the story "came to me".
Question 2: Did your son give you any input on the text or illustrations?
Adonya Wong: No. Nicholas doesn't communicate with me like that. If I were to ask for his input, he would have difficulty processing what it is I am asking. As for the illustrations? Well, my publisher provided all that for me. I only requested that the character be modeled after my son, that was it. I was just very fortunate to have an illustrator who saw what was going on in my mind without a lot of input from me.
Because I am a rule breaker, I asked her a few other questions about how her book has been received by family and friends. Adonya's response was not surprising
"My friends, whom I consider my family, have given me very positiveI also wanted to know if any more books were in the works and learned that Adonya has already written several others, including 12 of which that were written the same week as In My Mind.
feedback."
Lastly, I inquired if she had thought about marketing the book for use in schools curriculum and/or to libraries."However, I don't spend my days stressing about what to write. I actually wait for the words to come to me in their own time".
"I have been seriously, seriously considering just that. My husband is
a professor, so I'd have a lot of assistance in compiling the information into a
teaching format. Additionally, I will be marketing IMM as a companion for
the Libraries and Autism program I want implemented in Oklahoma."
Thanks, Adonya, for stopping by.
Adonya's next stop on the Virtual Book Tour will be Rawtism.com on Friday January 23rd. Be sure to stop by to learn more about her and to place your daily entry for her awesome giveaway...
"One lucky reader will win a beautiful gift basket containing an autographed copy of her book, a copy of Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew, packages of Enjoy Life™ and Namaste Foods™ goodies, an eco-friendly cleaning starter kit (Whole Foods® 365™ brand), and (1) $50 Amazon.com gift card!! This prize is valued at $200!!!"
How to Enter: **Simply comment about your relationship with autism, what you are doing to raise awareness, and how In My Mind has touched your life. Be sure to visit all of her stops for more chances to qualify for this amazing prize!**
To learn more about Adonya Wong's book In My Mind and living with autism, please visit her website and blog
Adonya's book is available at Amazon.com
Pick up your own copy here:
In My Mind: The World through the Eyes of Autism (Tate Publishing 2009)
Published: January 6, 2009
Genre: Children’s Fiction
ISBN 10: 1-60696-601-4
ISBN 13: 978-1-60696-601-3
28 Pages (full-color paperback)
$9.99 (includes audio book version)
A portion of the author’s proceeds benefit Autism Center of Tulsa (formerly Tulsa Autism Foundation)
9 comments:
I love this book. I have had people ask me how to explain Autism to a classroom of young children. For young children, I think the focus should be explaining the child, not the disorder. This book does that. Thanks.
Hi Tammy!
Thank you for the kind words.
I have to agree with you when it comes to "explaining autism" to our young. I believe when you make things complicated, they become even more confused.
IMO... keeping things light and even adventurous helps them better understand something as mysterious as autism.
To be honest with you, I don't think I could "explain the disorder"... even now. ;)
Thanks for stopping by! Looking forward to your tour stop next Wednesday! :D
Adonya
Adonya Wong
Author | Autism Blogger | Twitterer
Although I havne't experienced the book yet... it absolutely sounds wonderful. I work for Head Start preschool programs and we are seeing more and more children with the AI diagnosis and they are all just as different as can be. Something like this wouild be helpful for our classrooms as a resource for both the staff who may not understand as well as the chidren.
On a personal note my nephew, although no diagnosis has come, I personally believe is on the spectrum. Both his sister and his father have no real clue in how to deal with some of the various behaviors he displays (honestly I don't think his mom really knows either... but that's another story.)
It's great to have more adult/child friendly resources like this book. It's going on my list of must haves.
As a mom of a son on the spectrum, simply sharing that fact with others is educating a lot of people. You see, my little guy is a talker, and it isn't always readily apparent to others that there's something diffent in the way he experiences, senses or reacts to the world. The amount of dingbat responses -- not meant to be ignorant-sounding, just uninformed always astounds me. I borrow the phrase "if you've a child with autism, you've only seen one aspect of a many-sided diagnosis. I've not yet read this book, but it would be very helpful in conveying how my son is alike, and different, from his peers.
Hi Carrie.
Thanks for stopping by.
I am currently working on a teaching program where the book can be used for just that.
The early days of autism are confusing, at best. Perhaps, my book will be able to shed some light on things for your brother/sister. Perhaps when he/she reads it, he/she just might see his/her son within the pages.
Or perhaps not.
I hope you enjoy your copy, and thanks again for stopping by.
Adonya
Adonya Wong
Author | Autism Blogger | Twitterer
Hey there, Lisa.
Sorry my comment to Carrie came before I saw yours show up! Talk about dingbat! ;)
I have met other parents who assume that my life is exactly like theirs for the simple fact that we have children with autism.
Autism is a multi-faceted "dis-order", and like snowflakes, every person is uniquely different.
Sure, there are similarities, but physiologically, everyone functions at different levels.
I often get a kick whenever I mention that my son has autism, and I receive this response... "Really! I couldn't tell. He doesn't look like he has it."
I know they mean well, but who says that to someone?
Anyhoo, I relish at any opportunity to "school someone" {can also be read as put someone in their place) especially if they've made an inappropriate comment or looked at us sideways.
Or educating those whose hearts are in the right place, but their choice of words are misplaced.
I welcome your thoughts on the book when you get it. :)
Thanks for stopping by!
Adonya
Adonya Wong
Author | Autism Blogger | Twitterer
MT, this is such an informative review! I agree that this book should be in school libraries and classrooms.
Hello :)
I am a moderate-intensive special education student teacher. In past education placements and camps, I have had a lot of exposure to Autism. I have worked with ABA/Discrete trial training and seemingly have met just about every different end of the spectrum. In My Mind seems like an absolutely wonderful book to help simplify and explain the complex world of Autism.
I would love to read the "10 things..." book. I think it will be an invaluable resource to me as a teacher.
What am I doing to raise awareness? For starters, I always use person first language. I never say "the Autistic boy", I say "the cute little boy with the red hair who has Autism." or something like that! I also push others to see that children with Autism all deserve the same chances that we do to lead happy, fulfilling lives.
Congratulations to Carrie Chance for winning an autographed copy of IMM.
Please send your mailing address to adonya@throughtheeyesofautism.com!
Congrats again!
Post a Comment