Images are courtesy of Amazon.co.uk My 8 year old son is autistic, (aspergers) and he has trouble dealing with the world and its complicated ways. Sometimes this leads to anger and frustration and because he doesn't look as though he has a disability people are very condemning but they just don't understand.

I purchased these two books from Amazon UK to try and help Harry with his anger issues. There is no support available to us from the authorities despite the increased awareness of autism so we are very much on our own. I am very impressed with the Red Beast book and I think the only way I can explain it to you is to quote parts of the foreword:

"Any parent of a child with special needs will tell you that it is the uncontrollable outbursts of rage which are the most difficult to contend with"

"Some children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder ASD are prone to regular outbursts of rage, since simply living through a normal day is often fraught with anxiety and frustration. Children with Aspergers Syndrome seem to be the most affected because they are more self aware"

The book disassosiates the feeling of anger from the child themselves and instead calls it the Beast. In doing so it takes away the feelings of guilt and resulting low self-esteem.

This book is going to prove invaluable to me!

I wasn't too impressed with "When Sophie Gets Really Really Angry..." We could all identify Harry as Sophie but I didn't like the idea that when Sophie gets angry she runs away into the countryside. Children with autism mimic things such as stories or films etc, they also take things literally so this book could prove to be quite dangerous. I am quite sure that this book has its place but not for a child with autism.


It is very exhausting living with a child or children with special needs because you have to teach them everything, things which are normally learnt automatically. That coupled with the fact that they usually have communication dishorders makes it a very stressful environment.

I could write a book about my life with my boys. I am not saying it is all bad because it most certainly is not in fact the disability brings joy with it as well as strife!! You learn to become tolerant of their ways and life is spent "walking on egg shells" because the wrong word, the wrong look - can lead to a complete melt down. I have learnt an indirect approach works better with my children, a few half truths and ignoring alot. However, it is emotionally draining.


Mind you, I might find it hard parenting children with special needs but whenever I start to feel hard done to, I put myself in their shoes, I try to see the world through their eyes and to be quite honest with you I am in awe of them. They have adopted clever strategies in order to manage their situation but no matter what, the world is a scarey place when you are not sure what comes next. No wonder Harry wants to stay home all the time!