Understanding Sam and Asperger Syndrome

Guest Post

by Liezl Venter MA CCC

Speech Language Pathologist

Co-author of new children’s book

Sam is not my son but as a speech pathologist I definitely work with a lot of “Sams” and thought that their story was important to tell as school can be extra tough for kids who have Aspergers or who are diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorders.

Understanding Sam was specifically written for little ones and can be used by teachers or counselors as a resource with mainstream students to help children understand their little friend with ASD or Aspergers and for them to also practice being a good friend.

We hear a lot about bullying in general but what about kids with Autism who already have significant difficulty with social skills and who generally have a much more difficult time negotiating their way out of being bullied at school? Let’s talk about it and educate kids about Autism. I co-authored the book with Clarabelle van Niekerk (my Mom) who also works with children with Autism and fully integrates the arts (painting, music, dance and theater) in her workshops to improve social skills and the use of language. I think she captured Sam beautifully as she also did the illustrations. We hope our book will resonate with parents and little ones:-)

Thank you for this wonderful site Tahirih!