The Little Class with the Big Personality: Experiences of Teaching a Class of Young Children w/Autism Book

I came across this book while searching for some tips for successful inclusion of children with autism in regular classroom. Since the teacher also had not had previous experiences with children on the spectrum, her perspectives of what the children could or couldn't do perhaps conjured up nicely what it feels to have an initial exposure to autism and the necessity of understanding its to the core. I admire her patience and quest for knowledge as she gradually overcome the challenge of becoming a specialEd teacher. Actually the whole team (Fran and her other two assistants) of the class was awesome - I guessed they really enjoyed the time spent in the class despite the constant pressure to keep the children safe and happy. The stories were also followed by parent's thoughts and perspectives on their children, which showed that many parents were able to maintain positive attitude and thoughts about their children's improvements. However, I still (personally) feel like there's something not right behind these stories. After all, they still fit very well with the way children with autism are viewed in the public - though with more love and sympathy. The kids were portrayed extremely stereotypically - it makes me feel like once again we are only able to touch on the overt, observable behaviors (and abnormalities) and simplify how we understand autism. Not that I know of any better way to identify or describe the kids outside of their obsessive interests and so-called problematic behaviors, but I still think there's something missing in these descriptions.