Maria is on vacation with her dad. Unlike most kids who come away from vacation with a photo album, Maria, whose father Miguel Gallardo is an artist, gets a graphic novel!
Maria and Me: A Father, a Daughter (and Autism) not only tells the story of Maria's vacation in the Canary Islands with her father, but it also tells the story of children living with autism.
Like many individuals with autism, Maria loves her routines. She recites the names of people she knows. Her dad draws pictograms to help her with daily tasks. She enjoys focused, repetitive activities, especially pouring sand through her fingers. Sometimes she self-stims.
An ongoing issue is the reactions of strangers to Maria and her behaviors. Sometimes people just stare, sometimes they are downright rude. Gallardo handles it with grace, but he notices.
Parents of children with autism will relate to many of the Gallardos's experiences in
Maria and Me. Maria's behaviors and tendencies will be familiar to many families. Hopefully Gallardo's audience will extend beyond those already familiar with autism.
Maria and Me can be very educational for those unfamiliar with the disorder, giving them a personalized context which will help them recognize autism in other children so that they can respond with understanding and compassion, but, more importantly, with friendship and acceptance.
Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!
I like Gallardo's simple but insightful description of autism:
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