In the book Buster and The Amazing Daisy written by Jessica Kingsley a story is told of a young girl by the name of Daisy White, who has autism, defeats her bullies and overcomes her fears with the help of a rabbit named Buster. Daisy has Asperger’s syndrome, a mild form of autism, this novel that is told by her point of view allows others to see what life is like through the eyes of a child with autism. Daisy seems to face challenges when she begins to attend a mainstreamed school, where she meets a girl by the name of Marissa who leads the pack of mean-spirited “bully-pops”. Then there is Cody who is bound to a wheelchair and a breathing machine all because of an accident and we can’t forget Buster, the classroom rabbit whom Daisy trains …show more content…
She mentions how her son faced some big social challenges in his first year, mainstreaming in the regular classroom. Due to her own personal experience with her son there are several factors shown in the novel that are crucial to have a happy conclusion. A factor that I noticed was how Daisy’s teacher was patient and understanding. She really took the time to teach the other children to appreciate the uniqueness of each of us. Another thing I noticed was how Daisy was not punished for her outburst, but rather given the support to recover and learn a different way of responding to stress. It is very common for a child with Autism to have outburst frequently; therefore, it is important to know how to control the situation. Then her teacher allowed Daisy time and space to calm down. Daisy’s teacher gave her support at recess by allowing her a quiet, “safe” environment and a special way of “connecting” with other kids through a popular common interest, Buster. I really liked how the school principal, teacher, special education staff, and parents did there best to work as a team and find it important for all of us to do this when working with students. The school also had an older student, matching Daisy’s interest, who was enlisted as a “buddy”. By giving Daisy a “buddy” we suddenly see her attitude change towards school and she begins to enjoy her time with her friends. Something that I noted as being really important especially when working with a child with Autism was how her parents understood how to prepare her for new situations. For example, when Daisy was anxious about performing at the pet contest her mom took her to the location and talked to her about what the steps would be on that day. Her mom also helped her by getting her friends involved in the performance. It is common to see an individual with Autism react negatively to a new situation and by preparing that child ahead