The Red Beast: controlling anger in children with Asperger's Syndrome

K.I. Al-Ghani (author)

Haitham Al-Ghani (illustrator)

Jessica Kingsley Publishers, UK: 2009

ISBN: 9781843109433

Genres: picture book

Issues: anger management, Asperger's, social skills, special needs

This is short, simple story designed to help students understand one of the most significant social problems experienced by those with Asperger's Syndrome - the onset of sudden, often extreme anger.

The anger - probably closer to rage - is often an apparently extreme reaction to something that may, to a non-Asperger's person, appear to be a minor event. Non-Asperger's children, especially, can find the sudden rage terrifying, which can lead to significant social problems in both the classroom and the playground. The Red Beast makes it clear that we all suffer from ‘the red beast' and would all benefit from learning to have better control over it - both for our own sake and for those around us. Practical strategies are suggested and the very literal text and strong imagery makes this a story that both Asperger's and non-Asperger's alike will be able to understand.

Simple, cartoon-style illustrations portray the intensity of the rage felt by the child with Asperger's: the red beast that suddenly emerges is so large that the child completely disappears. This graphic representation of the overpowering nature of such intense emotions helps readers understand that the beast frightens the child it conceals as much as it does the child that it attacks. What both graphics and text also make very clear is that, by applying methodical strategies, anybody, Asperger's or non-Asperger's, can learn to control the ‘red beast' inside them.

A very useful text designed to promote understanding, empathy and acceptance of those with Asperger's.

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