Page 54 - SEN107 SEN Magazine July-August 2020

SEN 107 senmagazine.co.uk 54 Book reviews Autism, Bullying and Me: The Really Useful Stuff You Need to Know About Coping Brilliantly With Bullying E. Lovegrove From Able to Remarkable: Help Your Students Become Expert Learners R. Massey Emily Lovegrove is a lecturer and leader of many workshops on anti- bullying strategies. In her private practice, she works mainly with autistic children and young adults and she is the author of ‘Help I’m Being Bullied’. In this book, she writes from the perspective of being an autistic adult and makes a plea for people to be loved and respected for who they are, rather than having to pretend to be something they are not. In this book, Lovegrove draws on the input from 2 teenagers, who read and commented on drafts of the book, as well as contributors from autistic people through social media. She explains that this is intended to be a ‘massively positive’ book, aimed primarily at 10-16 year olds. This is reflected in the format of the book and its use of reader friendly language. Chapters include: ‘Am I Normal?,’ ‘What is Bullying?,’ ‘How To Calm Down So You Can Think Clearly,’ ‘Depression ….. And Worse’ and ‘Three More Useful Anti-Bullying Strategies’. The overall tone of this short text is upbeat and reassuring and it encourages the reader to experiment with strategies to engage with others and to become more aware of their own individual strengths. She stresses the importance of recognising the difference between being ‘average’ and being ‘normal’ and explores some common facts and myths about bullying. The book also includes links to resources such as supportive books and organisations. Robert Massey is an experienced history teacher, with a particular interest in supporting colleagues in meeting the needs of high attaining students. He is a popular speaker at education conferences, and he focuses on changing the ways teachers think about helping all students to unlock their latent potential through recognising their attributes and capabilities. He expresses a passion for enabling all pupils to achieve success and for teachers to become skilled in strategies to support this. The book is organised into 3 parts. ‘Starting Our Learning Journey,’ ‘The Expert Learner,’ and ‘Excellence for All’. The book covers many areas, including elitism, teacher well-being, the myth of the learning curve and ability and attainment. This book focuses on gifted and talented pupils and it recognises that these pupils have additional needs in terms of their mental health, stress, as well as the need to recognise the well-being needs of those who teach them. Massey also makes reference to the emotional needs of parents, and he recognises that being a ‘Gifted and Talented’ student can pose challenges at home and in school. These students have their own special educational needs and Massey’s book provides support and guidance from the perspective of an expert practitioner in this field. His belief is that many students are being underestimated in terms of their potential, and that this applies to all levels of ability. This book will provide food for thought for teachers, regardless of which sector they are working in. Jessica Kingsley Publishers ISBN: 978-1-78775-213-9 £12.99 Crown House Publishing Limited ISBN: 978-1-785-83435-6 £18.99 Book reviews