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Journey into the autistic world.

Thursday, February 23, 2006


Cover Page of Our Picture Book Posted by Picasa

Project of Pride: Announcing the Completion of My First Picture Book

...In Collaboration with Ing Yong Chien, Illustrator

Although I had never aspired to write a children’s book before, phrases of a children’s story about Sebastien kept floating into my consciousness last year. They were inspired by my days spent doing homework with Sebastien in the garden at the back of my house in Phoenix, Arizona and the hummingbirds that frequented our garden. Most of all, I was inspired by my observations of Sebastien and his determined struggle to cope with life “out there” – a world unmediated by language and communication -- that often seemed terrifying to him. Back then, for Sebastien, the world was a scary place when he could not make sense of what was happening around him – something he experienced each time he encountered something new or went to a new place.

However, this picture book would never have come into being if I had not met Yong Chien who is responsible for the illustrations and the layout of the text. Just prior to meeting him, I learned of the Media Development Authority’s initiative to give a grant to first-time children’s book writers and illustrators. This opportunity almost coincided with my meeting with Yong Chien who had answered my ad to be my assistant to help care for Sebastien, while I did my parent training back in October. I was struck by his extraordinary artistic talent that was displayed on his blog (http://gesturo.biz). During our first meeting, I propositioned him about doing the illustrations for my story. After meeting with me, observing Sebastien, reviewing my photographs of my house in Phoenix and doing his own research, Yong Chien succeeded in translating my story, my conversations with him about Sebastien and his observations of Sebastien into this picture book.

At our second meeting, Yong Chien had asked me to give him photographs of Sebastien with more “facial expression.” Delighted by his astute observation of Sebastien’s lack of facial affect, I put forth the challenge to him: “That’s precisely it. If you are able to capture the lack of expression on Sebastien’s face, it will help people to see how he looks different from a typical child.”

No words could possibly describe my reaction to the first draft of Yong Chien’s work. In my opinion, Yong Chien’s pictures projected a purity of spirit that more than did justice to my story and Sebastien’s fighting spirit. At that moment in time, I felt blessed beyond measure to have met Yong Chien. To me, this book is a precious gift and personal memento.

More than just a personal gift to me and Sebastien, this book, I hope, can serve a powerful purpose for the autism community. It is not often that an autistic child is the star of a film or a book. This story celebrates Sebastien’s triumph of overcoming his fears of birds, insects and horses. In writing this story, I sought to increase the awareness of parents of autistic children, other children and members of the public about the unique challenges faced by our autistic children and the incredible efforts they make to survive in our world.

Most importantly, I hope that this book will serve as a source of pride and unity for the entire community of autistic children and their families. To launch this book, I plan to hold a publication party that will bring families of the autism community together in a celebration of our lives. Amidst our hardships and struggles, we need to take stock of our children’s strengths and celebrate their uniqueness. We parents also need to pat each other on the back for our own efforts.

At a more practical level, we are hoping to donate seventy percent of the profits to Kampung Senang Charity and Education Foundation’s new learning centre for children with autism: World of Autism. This centre will offer a variety of services for autistic children and their families. One of these programmes will be an individualised and customised children’s programme with a one-to-one adult:student ratio. Apart from group activities, each of the students attending the programme will have an individualised and customised learning programme that will be developed exclusively for them, based on their interests and learning preferences. Due to renovations of the space and preparations, this programme will be slated to begin in late May. More details will be available as the date approaches.

Yong Chien and I will utilise the remaining 30 percent of the profits for our future collaborations and projects. My intention is to create a series of children’s books that deal with the issue of autism. Apart from Sebastien, I certainly welcome other parents to contribute stories about their children, which can be developed into books and related projects. As parents of autistic children, we know how each autistic child is different from another. Thus, together, we can weave together a powerful and comprehensive tapestry of autism and our autistic children to reshape public consciousness about this developmental disorder.

We are planning to sell this 20-page picture book at $20.00. If you are interested or know of any parents or organisations that would be interested to purchase or promote this book, please contact me at 8163-4509 or email me at kchoo7@gmail.com.

Update: Alas, we did not get the grant from the MDA. Therefore, I will be using my savings to print this book. Parents, educators and anyone who have any skills, expertise and passion to help us in this project, it will be much appreciated.