A Challenge For Brittany - Review

I was given the opportunity to read A Challenge for Brittany written by Lisa Peck. I would love to tell you that I gave it a five star review but I just can't do that. While the book overall is GREAT and the moral of the story is awesome ... I am not happy with how they talked about autism.

I do think the book is borderline 4 star, I am rounding up to the 4 though. Let me give you a brief peek into the book and then tell you why I rated it as I did.

The story revolves around three girls (two sisters and the older sister's best friend) and a new student in their Senior Primary class. This book is about the Latter-Day Saint faith with the CTR Club standing for Choose the Right. The sisters are the Bishop's daughters and he gives them a special calling to help a new student fit in. The new student has autism. The beginning of the book, Christine (the younger sister) is constantly helping Brittany (main character and Christine's sister) remember that she is to do what God has asked us to do. It is hard because Parker (the new kid) only wants to eat Brittany's hair. Through the book, you follow Brittany's growth and determination to simply get Parker to shake her hand. She faces several trials and set backs, but keeps pushing until she reaches success.

So ...

I love the way the author describes the characters. Seeing children in the primary, and having a couple myself, I could absolutely visualize this entire book. The characters remind me a lot of my children and children we have come across in church.

The lesson is great. She learns to take things that she knows and learns along the way to finally reach the child that no one wants to deal with.

My problem lies with the description of autism. Autism is NOT a disorder where they do not believe people are present. Yes, they have a very hard time communicating with others and they fall into a loop with speech. Autism is a processing disorder where people, things, and noise will completely overwhelm their senses. Sensory Processing Disorder (what my son and middle daughter have) is the low end of the autism spectrum, while what Parker has is high end of the spectrum. My other children are considered neurotypical children.

I think the book is pretty misleading on what we should teach our children about autism. I understand that autism is getting a lot more press now and it is great to have it referenced in a book. However, I strongly feel that we need to focus on why the children fall into the routines. It is because they feel safe and secure.

I do recommend this book to parents looking for a good book to teach their children about accepting those who are not the same as them. I just wish Lisa had taken a slightly different tact in describing autism.

My children have become friends with a couple kids that are on the autism spectrum. Adella just seems to connect with them and it is great for everyone. If you want to read a bit more on Autism, you should check out AutismSpeaks.org or the autism fact sheet on the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes.