Autism Children's Book

My first child and son Maceo was born on July 31 2009,   As Maceo grew his mother and I noticed he wasn’t meeting certain milestones that most children his age were reaching. He didn’t play with other children and always seemed to be in his own little world. We weren’t worried because he was so ahead with other things. He could read by three, tell time, played piano and was already doing 1st grade math.

His differences became more evident when he started school. After only two weeks of Kindergarten his teacher asked to meet with us. She told us Maceo should get tested for autism and that daycare  would be the best place for him.

We waited months for him to be assessed and he was eventually diagnosed, almost eight months later, with Autism spectrum disorder (HFA) or Asbergers’ syndrome. At the assessment the Doctor was appalled that he was sent home. The doctor that assessed Maceo told us that there were many options available to us and many ways we could have been helped out by the school system. My wife and I were never told of the plethora of assistance available to us, instead my son was sent home. Being first time parents everything was new and very frightening to us.

I am an artist with a masters degree in drawing and painting. I spent several years working with children in schools teaching art, mostly painting murals. I was awarded the Ontario Arts Council artists in Education grant several times to do so. I have initiated many youth programs, particularly for youth at risk in urban areas and on indigenous reservations as well as special needs children.  My most rewarding experience I had was working on several occasions with special needs children

The year he was sent home to us I spent working with my son . I read just about every book I could find on autism to help my son. My son’s issues and difficulties (as many children on the autism spectrum) have to do with navigating the social world.

I came across the work of Carol Gray, the creator of the concept for social stories for children. Social Stories were devised as a tool to help individuals on the autism spectrum better understand the nuances of interpersonal communication so that they could interact in an effective and appropriate manner.

For many children with special needs social stories are very helpful for staying on task and ensuring that the child is prepared for future events and activities.

A Social Story accurately describes a situation, skill, or concept according to defining criteria, with a content, format, and voice that is descriptive, meaningful, and physically, socially, and emotionally safe for the Audience.

Social stories: from the Carol Gray website

Improve a child’s behavior when there are changes in routines.
Encourage a child to complete less-preferred tasks.
Reinforce or teach abstract concepts, such as time (e.g., next, later), actions, and prepositions (e.g., open, put in,)
Break down multi-step tasks into smaller, more manageable parts.
Increase your child’s independence by improving his ability to complete parts of his routine with less help or prompting.
 
One night I came up with a bedtime story for my son that was in part, a social story.  Being an artist I illustrated it also. My story was more visually complex than most social stories and involved in the story telling.  My social storybook is more visual than literary, as autistic children tend to be very visual learners.  

The main character is a little boy with autism, based on my son. The story takes place in outer space,  as Maceo travels the solar system, learning about the solar system. Through his voyage he comes across some adventures and has to deal with his emotions and social constructs along the way.

My son memorized the solar system at three years of age and is fascinated with outer space and the cosmos. This can be a common interest in many HFA children.

Through his gifts and fascination for space my aim was to teach him about social issues and to help him cope with his anxieties. There are many high functioning children like my son that I feel fall through the cracks and need more things targeted and created for them.

I am requesting funds for the purpose of publishing and printing this book and creating an e book version of this story and two other stories I’m working on right now. The funds will go towards taking the time to refine and illustrate the book properly. The project will be available in multiple media for greater accessibility.

 I would like my storybooks to be available on- line as a downloadable file via website/ or facebook page as well as creating a video book and posting it on Youtube. Ideally I would like to create a downloadable app making the stories available for everyone.

This project will take a lot of further research, time and effort but is something I am obviously very passionate about. I have seen the results on my son and know that it works. His teachers have told me of how the story I created has helped him greatly in dealing with anxiety and controlling his emotions.

This book was gained the support of two leading experts in the field of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Dr. Cynthia Goldfarb at Isand /Integrated Services for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders/ & Lucy Patterson at Centennial Infant and Child Centre in Toronto Canada, both have read the story and worked with my son.