Is Lydia Strange? by Sarah Crowther

20 p., 2006.

Children who have Asperger's syndrome often experience painful social rejection. When Lydia's family moves, she enrolls at a new school, where she is immediately rejected and bullied by girls who are intolerant of her difficulty understanding a figure of speech. They tear the arm off Lydia's stuffed rabbit, who feels to Lydia like her only friend. Fortunately, another classmate, Jenny, is kind to Lydia. Lydia tells Jenny that she has Asperger's syndrome and explains in a very accessible way that for her, it involves having "certain interests or obsessions," discomfort in crowds, a consistent daily routine, hand flapping when upset, and inability to understand body language, facial expression, and tone of voice. In a gesture full of wonderful symbolic meaning, Jenny sews Lydia's rabbit's arm back on. When she affirms her friendship with Lydia, Lydia is empowered to explain her Asperger's syndrome to her class. She concludes with the important message, "'It doesn't really matter how different you are from everyone else. You are special in your own way.'" Ultimately, even the girls who bullied her become her friends. This story was written and charmingly illustrated by a young woman who herself has Asperger's syndrome. It can both explain Asperger's syndrome to children who are unfamiliar with it and provide hope, encouragement, and positive modeling for children experiencing it.

Ages: 7-11
Cultural Context: European American

This book is hard to find, but is available by email from Beverly Crowther, bkelc@comcast.net, for a cost of $10.00 plus $2.00 for shipping.