Book Review # 3

Larson, Elaine Marie. I Am Utterly Unique: Celebrating the Strengths of Children with Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism. Shawnee Mission: Autism Asperger Publishing Company, 2006.

Elaine Marie Larson has compiled a list of alphabetized characteristics of children with ASD. The pictures are brightly colored cartoons of children saying positive qualities they, as autistic children, possess. Some examples include “I am a Detail Detective,” “I have Fantastic Focus,” “I have Precise Pronunciation,” and “I live in a Wonderful World.” This book gives students with ASD a list of things they are able to look at and most likely find within themselves. I Am Utterly Unique is simple and is a great way to show younger ASD students that they have peers who are experiencing the same confusion as them.

Elaine Marie Larson is a former preschool, elementary and adult ESL teacher. She has a grandson with Asperger’s Syndrome and wrote this book with the intention of helping him “grow in self-awareness of his many capabilities.” This book is aimed at a young audience of Autistic children who are still figuring out how their brain works. Since many autistic children are confused about how their brains are “supposed” to work, this is a great resource for autistic and Asperger’s children. Elaine is an insider on this subject and she wrote this book with the intention of helping all children with autism find their strengths. This book is a fabulous and simple way to show the “unique characteristics and abilities of children with Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism.”