From the author of "Hands Are Not For Hitting" is a new book that talks to kids about what they experience because they are on the autism spectrum. 
 Shocking! Revolutionary! 
 Wait....why aren't we talking to our kids about autism? That's something I've thought during most IEP meetings, at which my son is not present. Granted, he's 7. Then again, he's 7. Not stupid. And this is his life. 
 Elizabeth Verdick ("Hands Are Not For Hitting") and Elizabeth Reeve, MD are both mothers of sons on the autism spectrum. They've written a guide, meant to be read with a parent, to help children with autism to understand why they experience the world differently than their classmates, and to make choices to guide their future. There's a chapter about learning body language, complete with photos of a boy and girl giving knucks. The book talks about bedwetting, how to start a conversation, and exactly how hard you're supposed to hit someone in the game "tag." 
 I haven't yet read this book cover to cover, but I have read it sufficiently enough and with enough suspicion that it not be precious or condescending to recommend it to parents and family members of children with autism, but primarily for the children themselves. This is a step to help us all imagine a future as full as the futures of their neurotypical peers. I laud Verdick and Reeve for providing this book so that we can take it.