Ian's Walk: A Story about Autism by Laurie Lears

Lears, Laurie. Ian’s Walk: A Story about Autism. Mortan Grove: Albert Whitman & Company, 1998.

It is a beautiful summer day in Julie’s small town neighborhood and she is ready to go to the park with her older sister Tara. However, Julie is not happy that her little brother Ian wants to come too. As the three leave the house Julie is responsible for watching Ian and holding his hand. Ian stops frequently to look at various objects around the town, which frustrates Julie because she cannot understand what it is that Ian hears and sees that grasps so much of his attention. Julie’s impatience grows but she tolerates Ian because as she points out, Ian’s brain doesn’t work like other people’s brains and he sees things differently because he has Autism. The wonderful watercolor illustrations lead the readers through the journey from the downtown diner to the park. Once the three siblings reach the park, Julie turns her head for just a brief second and when Tara returns from buying pizza she asks where Ian is. Julie realizes she has lost her littler brother. Tara and Julie begin a frantic search around the park, calling Ian’s name and asking strangers if they have seen him. Julie uses her creativity and knowledge and decides the best way to find Ian is to think like him. She starts to remember all the things that he likes and after hearing the faint sound of a bell she realizes Ian is in his favorite spot, under the large bell making the gong move back and forth to create the sound that he loves. The fear of losing her little brother makes Julie realize how special Ian is to her and that even though he may get on her nerves, he is special to her in so many ways. On the way home from the park, Julie lets Ian stop where ever he likes and lets him do all the things that seem so crazy to her. Julie tries to appreciate the different ways that Ian thinks, after all, it was thinking like Ian that helped her find her most special little brother. The illustrations capture the interaction between the characters and their emotions that the text alone cannot describe. The words act like captions for the wide spread illustrations that cover most of the space on each page. The text is designed for more advanced early readers, however the story told through the illustrations makes the picture book great for any age. Ian’s Walk: A Story about Autism, would be a great choice for a read aloud.

Laurie Lears, author of Ian’s Walk: A Story about Autism, got her inspiration for this book from the many students in her class. For much of her career, Laurie Lears has worked as a special education teacher working primarily with students with Autism. She has seen the effects Autism has on the lives of her students and she has also seen how families can also be affected. Laurie Lears’ understanding of Autism and her daily interaction with those who are affected by Autism make her an informed insider author. Before the story begins there is a note about Autism that explains the extra challenges that families with Autistic children undertake in their day to day lives. The note focuses on how other children in the household deal with, and react to, the needs of their sibling. The note, written by psychologist Doctor Carol Rolland and Doctor Kay McGuire, explains that siblings of autistic children may feel anger and embarrassment about the disability. Sometimes these emotions are more prominent because autism is hard to explain to those who are unfamiliar with it. The note says “The healthy siblings learn valuable lessons of responsibility, compassion, and toleration of differences. They grow to understand that while life is not perfect, it is still good” (first page). The story seems to follow this theme throughout. Written through the eyes of Julie, the sister of a child with autism, the story shows the frustrations and struggles that Julie undergoes as she begins to understand how special her brother is. What is good about this book is that the author does not diminish Ian for being autistic. He is portrayed as thinking and doing things differently from other children without autism which is a crucial aspect of accurately portraying persons with disabilities in literature. The book describes the things Ian can do but does not glorify him for his actions. Ian is seen doing the similar activities that children without autism do, such as going to the park, smelling flowers, and playing. But what makes this book accurate is that Ian notices different things and hears different sounds as he walks to the park. He smells the flowers differently than his sister Julie and he plays in different ways as well. The author does not evoke pity for Ian but portrays him as a person first and also someone who has a disability . This book is great for siblings wanting to understand their brother or sister with autism because it shows them that it is ok to feel the way they do but they need to realize that autism does not make their sibling less of a person. Julie’s transformation throughout the book can inspire readers to want to make a similar change in their views on autism. Although the book does not aim to explain why autistic children act in the different ways they do, it does aim to show that those differences are okay and should be embraced as part of a persons identity. Their differences make them unique and interesting individuals that happen to have a disability. This book shows the importance of the acceptance of persons with disabilities and portrays a character with autism in a very positive and accurate light.