L.J HALDANE

Can Dannie make the right decisions with your help?
‘Dannie’s Dilemmas’ is a series of books designed to show the difficulties that
children with Aspergers Syndrome face on a daily basis. These books are an interactive way
for readers to get involved with ‘Dannie’s Dilemmas.’ The reader has the ability to choose the way the stories end. This makes them unique in their own way.
Dannie is an eleven year old Aspergers child, she is smart, friendly and very
helpful, but due to the Aspergers she finds it difficult to assess situations, work out what people
think and really mean, make daily choices and understand emotions and sayings.
Like most Aspergers children Dannie does find herself in trouble quite a few
times for taking people literally, especially with idioms. ‘Dannie’s Dilemmas’ tries to explain as many idioms as possible.
Seeing life through Dannie’s eyes shows us all how emotionally difficult it is for
Aspergers children to understand the world that we take for granted every day.
In ‘The Right Shoes,’ Dannie has to go shopping for some new shoes for school.
Dannie hates shoe shopping as she finds it very stressful, therefore is not looking forward to
this shopping trip.
Although Dannie has many pairs of new trainers, she insists on wearing an old
pair of pink trainers that are falling apart. Dannie’s mother refuses to leave the house until
Dannie has changed her trainers. Dannie has to choose one of her new pairs of trainers to
wear which she does methodically and reluctantly. Dannie feels very uncomfortable in her new trainers but perseveres with them.
Outside the shoe shop Dannie’s mother tells her that she must behave and listen to
what the shop assistant tells her to do. Dannie does not approve as she believes the
only person who knows Dannie’s feet and what’s best to wear is herself.
While Dannie is waiting for the assistant, Dannie’s mother takes the assistant to
one side and explains that Dannie has Aspergers. She explains that Dannie may take a little
longer than other children to choose the right shoes and asks the assistant to show her a little
more patience.
While Dannie’s mother is looking around the shop for some shoes for Dannie to
try on, the assistant doesn’t show any patience towards Dannie but instead speaks down to
Dannie and treats her like an infant.
Dannie takes offence to the way she is being treated and retaliates against the
assistant. Dannie cannot understand why she is being treated this way and gets angry.
The assistant and Dannie argue back and forth until the assistant puts her foot
down and calls Dannie’s mother over to fix the problem.
This is when Dannie’s Dilemma begins, Dannie has to decide whether to tell her
mother how she is being treated or to keep quiet and say nothing. The reader will decide the
outcome.