Can You See Me?: A powerful story of autism, empathy and kindness

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Reading this book with year 6 children may be useful in the preparation to moving to secondary school, showing that although they may be feeling frightened, this is normal and lots of other children will be feeling the same. As a parent who’s going through some of these experiences (purely as a spectator, which I know is not the same) I found some camaraderie with in the pages, which is what I was hoping for my daughter when I bought it. Tally and one of the other kids in the book reminded me completely of a couple children I teach and it hit some very personal nerves because of it. People think that because Tally’s autistic, she doesn’t realise what they’re thinking, but Tally sees and hears – and notices – all of it.

It’s really important to point out to neurotypical readers that Tally is not a universal representation of how Autism presents itself. This is really quite a profound book that should be high on the list for anyone interested in Autism. Her most humiliating memories however, will never see the light of day – unless she runs out of ideas for her next book.With diary entries written by eleven-year-old Libby Scott, based on her own experiences of autism, this pioneering book, written in collaboration with esteemed author Rebecca Westcott, has been widely praised for its realistic portrayal of autism.

Furthermore, Tally’s diary entries explain the impact of each challenge upon her so that we are fully informed and involved. She lashes out at others, telling them what they "should" be able to do, yet going mad if anyone tries to suggest what she might be able to do. Help your child develop kindness and empathy with these middle grade books that inspire compassion: whether that’s towards animals, friends, or people in very different situations to your own. Tally isn't ashamed of being autistic -- even if it complicates life sometimes, it's part of who she is. I love slice-of-life stories, but parts of this were too ordinary and detailed for my tastes, because they didn't tie into the plot or emotional current of the story, or else fulfilled the exact same purpose as a dozen other scenes.It's been fun, because even though that is the last time in my life I would ever want to experience again, I've gotten to enjoy my memories of the good parts while better reconciling myself to the awful aspects. Most powerful of all is Tally’s ultimate realisation that autism is not something that needs to be hidden. And yes, the book does tell you what it's like for Tally to live with autism but it didn't persuade me that she is any more important than anyone else because of it. Other children Tally’s age need to understand how hard it can be to navigate change dealing with a condition like ASD and be taught more empathy and kindness.

At school, however, she repeatedly comments that she feels like having a melt-down, but she just can't, because she doesn't want her friends to see.But as Tally hides her true self, she starts to wonder what "normal" means after all and whether fitting in is really what matters most. It was such a pleasure to meet you both, and I really appreciated how smoothly and professionally you ran everything. I found it quite an emotional read, enjoyable and I’ve already recommended it to a friend as I know that she will enjoy it as much as I did. Tally's diary entries give an authentic insight into one girl's perspective of being autistic, and smashing a host of common assumptions and stereotypes about autism as we see Tally’s potent sense of humour and her deep empathy. It seems as though we feel compelled to share our knowledge with the other characters, from Luke to Ms Jarman to the restaurant goers.