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

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I am forever grateful that my parents didn't give up and accept my situation the way it was, and put unimaginable amounts of effort into helping my life change. This story follows the experiences of a fictional eleven-year-old girl named Tally who is on the autism spectrum, and who is struggling to adjust to school. I’ll start with the negatives because I want to end on the stuff I liked (warning of some spoilers ahead for anyone in my circle who’s thinking of reading this).

Still, I have mixed feelings about aspects of this, since I know from my own experience that I can have a unique and different brain with all of the "pros" that Tally listed in her diary, without all of the "cons" staying at their worst forever. She touches on the loneliness of not knowing who you really are when you mask, and that is so relatable. We are determined her friends should be empathetic, her teachers understand and her school and family support and appreciate her. However, this attitude can also lead to the risk of accepting acute suffering as part of a packaged deal. And to top it all off, there is essentially no plot other than the day to day struggle of living with autism.

Bronnie is so lovely with the boys and we also felt that having a man enthusing about the books set a great example. But what Tally says about the irony that people don’t often show Autistic people empathy when they accuse us of not having it is so painfully true, no one ever really tries to put themselves in our shoes.

knowing the kind of teasing that happened towards kids in my school who were known to have developmental disabilities or learning difficulties; the fact that her family constantly get angry at her behaviour but no one would take time to rationally point out in terms Tally can understand that she makes constant demands of people when they can’t make demands of her; or that a child who has been diagnosed while in the school system and has social interaction support needs as substantial as Tally’s wouldn’t be made known to SEN staff in the school and that her teachers would be completely ignorant that she is Autistic to begin with (I know some people might argue with me on the point of her support needs as I have seen someone refer to her as "high functioning":s, but I don’t think Tally is actually that high masking having been diagnosed in Primary and based on my own experiences and knowing the level that I am diagnosed with, Tally definitely needed more support from the adults around her than she gets if she can't even safely leave the house by herself).

Rebecca currently teaches in a primary school and lives in Dorset with her husband and three children.

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. This is really quite a profound book that should be high on the list for anyone interested in Autism. One thing Tally had that I did not have was the knowledge that she is autistic, she knew - I wish I had known and I wish I had books like this when I was that age. Her pairing with Rebecca Westcott, author of Violet Ink and Dandelion Clocks, is inspired and ensures that the tale of autistic child Tally is as eminently readable as it is authentic.

There is a scene where Tally and her sister are walking to school, and Tally stops to rescue a worm from the sidewalk, and her sister is upset because they will be late. You guys are such a force for good and I am a passionate supporter of Indie booksellers, so I'm so happy this worked out well (I'd love to know how many books were sold if you have it to hand - it felt like quite a lot! This book beautifully portrays the experiences of Tally, a young girl with autism, as she transitions from primary to secondary school.