Hi, I am Jenny-Lee. I am a mum of three children-two have autism, and the third is being assessed for it. A few years ago, I started to write stories for my children, often scribbling them on the insides of pillowcases in felt pens. I would write a story and then wash it away after reading it to the children as we didn't have many books and paper kept getting destroyed or lost. Lucky Little Ladybug is not the first story I wrote; I actually wrote a series about an elf and then Lucky Little Ladybug afterward. It is, however, the first book I am having published. The main character in Lucky Little Ladybug is based around my sister, who two years ago was diagnosed with Asperger's. Kelly, the character, also has Asperger's and prefers her own company to that of other people. Throughout the book, I have requested the illustrator have specific little tributes to autism and awareness, such as puzzle pieces, a blue mailbox, and butterflies. All these are associated with ASD awareness in some way as someone living in an ASD household, it is nice to have little tributes to others on the spectrum. I hope to continue to publish my work, and I really hope that children all over the world can get some laughs out of reading my book. Lucky Little Ladybug is a funny, quirky tale and has some decent sprinklings of magic about it too. But underneath the quirks is a serious side that all parents and loved ones of people with ASD know all too well: people with ASD will often be seen by others as "strange" and "living in their own little worlds." There is a very real isolation that sufferers have, and sadly, there is still little real awareness of this and families struggle to get the message out there that this is a real illness. They suffer from people judging them for their unique persons' illness and often have people ranting that they need to "better parent" their children. Autism and Asperger's are invisible to see but have a profound impact on the lives of many thousands of families all around the world. I encourage everyone to please be autism aware and help us get the word out there to others so people living with ASD can finally begin to be understood.
