Autistic girl's sketches make book a big hit

London: An autistic schoolgirl has teamed up with her mother to create a fairy story to teach children about her condition.

Rosie King, 12, has drawn pixies, fairies and goblins for her mother Sharon's book The Daily Journal of Arabella Crumblestone.

Mrs King, 40, wrote the story for children because most books about autism tend to be too factual for youngsters.

Rosie came up with the illustrations when her mother was working on the book and Mrs King was so impressed that she decided to use them.

The book tells of a fairy called Arabella who lands on Earth and has to find her way home. She comes across two children, one who has autism, and they help her. The characters are based on Mrs King's three children, who all have different physical or emotional problems.

Two years ago Rosie diagnosed herself with Asperger's Syndrome when she recognised her symptoms in a book about disabilities, which she was reading to understand her younger brother's condition.

Inspiration

She is the inspiration for the story's character Faith, one of the children who befriends the fairy.

While Rosie has been diagnosed with a mild form of Asperger's, an autistic type disorder characterised by difficulties with social interaction, her brother Lenny, 8, has classic autism. His book character George is also autistic.

Ten-year-old sister Daisy — characterised as the cheeky water fairy Dot — has Kabuki syndrome. This is a rare condition that produces developmental abnormalities, such as physical disfigurement, as well as learning and behavioural difficulties.

Mrs King, of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, who is married to Richard, a 45-year-old civil engineer, said: "In reality, Daisy is not able to speak, but in the book I have given her the words that I feel reflect her fun-loving ‘big splash' personality. I feel honoured to call these children my own. They have taught me so much about what life really means."

Mrs King said Rosie began drawing the characters as she tested the storyline out on her daughter. She said: "Rosie is such a good artist and I'm so happy that we collaborated on this book together." The book was published three weeks ago and 400 copies at £5 (Dh29) each have been sold, with £1 of each sale going to the National Autistic Society.

"I'm delighted with the sales as it's made for such a niche market, though it is a good children's story in its own right," said Mrs King.