A Is for Autism, F Is for Friend - A Kid's BookShow Video Details ↓ Joanna: Hello, my name is Joanna Keating Velasco, and I would like to share a summary preview of my children's book A is for Autism, F is for friend, a kids book on making friends with the child who has Autism. I hope you enjoy this little summary of my book. Chelsea: Hello, my name is Chelsea and I am eleven years old. I am in the fifth grade. I don't know if you recognize me but I see you every day at recess. It looks like it might be cool to be one of your friends. Here's the challenge though... I have a disorder called Autism. Autism is called a spectrum disorder which means that people with Autism have a lot of different symptoms and behaviors. Some are more obvious than others. I like to describe Autism using a rainbow. There is a huge rainbow of people, each has a variety of abilities, talents, and challenges. Each person with Autism is a completely unique individual. No two are exactly the same. Regardless of where a kid falls on that rainbow of Autism, making friends and expressing emotions can be tricky. I heard that one out of one hundred fifty children are born with Autism. That's a lot of kids on the Autism rainbow. Over one million people in the United States today have some form of Autism. Also, Autism is four times more likely in boys than girls. I am in a special day class for students with Autism so I end up being around a bunch of boys most of the day. I don't get a lot of girl time in the classroom. I have told you a little about Autism, the disorder. But what about me? I'm just a girl who happens to have Autism. In order to help those better understand each other, I'd like to tell you about some of my issues or challenges. Knowing them will help make it easier for us to be friends. First of all I have a lot of issues with my senses. Remember the five senses? The five senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. I have an amazing sense of sight and I notice everything when I walk into a room which is sometimes be too much for my eyes to handle and can make it hard for me to concentrate. My hearing is sometimes amplified, meaning I have the volume set too high. Some noises you may not even notice might be blasting in my ears. I have some major issues with touch but I do like to shake hands and hug people. My problem is that if you approach to hug me, I might not be ready for that waterfall of energy that goes through my body. The sense of touch is confusing to my body. My sense of smell can be so strong, my dad calls me the bionic nose. Some smells you don't even noticed can make me sick. Maybe we're the same in this area. Do some kinds of foods give you the heeby jeebies? Do some foods totally gross you out? Do you get upset when someone puts food on your dinner plate that looks disgusting to you? Something about me that I find really cool is that I am a visual thinker. I think in pictures. You probably think more verbally or with words. It helps me to be shown pictures or visuals in addition to talking to me. Actually, everybody uses visual helpers. Can you think of some you use? Does your mom ever say this to you? Look at me when I'm talking to you. I get this statement a lot. I have trouble making and keeping eye contact. If you want me to look you in the eyes I may have trouble listening. It's hard for me to do both at the same time. I feel scared and insecure when I look into people's eyes. You may have seen me rock back and forth spin or flap my hands. People have told me it looks strange when I do this but it makes me feel better. Sometimes my body just feels out of sync and that's why these kinds of behaviors give me comfort. I bet sometimes you do things that looks strange to other people. Can you think of any? You probably get frustrated at times. I do. When I want to tell someone how I feel I have trouble expressing my feelings. Occasionally I try to ask for something but I can't get the words out. I can see a picture in my head of exactly what I want but the words aren't there. It's like when your computer freezes up, or it doesn't respond quickly enough. It can be very frustrating having all of these thoughts, feelings, wants, and ideas floating around in my head, pictures and not being able to share them with others. Can you imagine that? I would like to be your friend. Together we can learn a lot from each other while we have fun. Maybe if you see me at the mall or McDonald's, or in the playground you could stop by and say hello to me. Let's get to know each other. Some people have told me that people with Autism are like a puzzle piece trying to fit in. I'm not sure about that, but if that's the case I hope you will help me complete the puzzle by being my friend. To learn more about Autism awareness or to order your copy of A is for Autism, F is for friend, a kid's book on making friends with the child who has Autism go to www.aisforautism.net. [music] … |