Today marks the fourth annual World Autism Awareness Day. Adopted by the UN in 2007, the day is an occasion to promote awareness of autism and the millions of people it affects worldwide. It’s also a great opportunity to raise money and support for continued research into the subject.
When Miriam Smith was looking for a gift for her autistic grandson Griffin, she realized that there weren’t any books out there that were suited to his particular needs. So she and her daughters Afton Fraser (co-author and Griffin’s mom) and Margo Smithwick (the photographer) teamed up to create Point to Happy, the first ever book made specifically for kids on the autism spectrum—and the perfect gift for Griffin.
Join us at 7 pm tonight for an event with the authors at Book Revue in Huntington, NY! They’ll be discussing the inspiration for the book, and how it’s helpful to kids with varying degrees of autism. Visit Book Revue’s website for details.
As a preview, check out this video of the book’s creators explaining why the vibrant photographs and grippable pointer are so valuable to autistic children, who often benefit greatly from visual support.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE02kA0QfQM&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
To learn more about autism and what you can do to celebrate World Autism Awareness Day, visit AutismSpeaks.org.
1 Comment
Leslie Lanier
April 11, 2011 at 7:09 pmI gave a copy of this book to a child with Autism in my local pre-k. His teacher stopped in to see me and said that Oliver loves the book. He was smiling and excited using the pointer. Thank you so much for making this child very happy.