My Brother has a Thing...and I want one

Written for the 6yr old sibling of her eldest son, this is the story of the missing character, the silent partner, the unsung hero of Rachel's other book - "The Thing -A Young Boy's Journey with Asperger Syndrome"

It tells of the little jealousies, frustrations and perceptions of a little boy...and the gentle shifting of his understanding of his brother.

Told in a deliciously dancing rhyme, and with the wonderfully innocent cartoon style of Zeke Clough's illustrations, this book is not simply for brothers and sisters of children on the Autistic Spectrum. It applies to any sibling trying to understand from the side-lines of disorder and offers a sensitive and accessible route to opening discussion with children across both mainstream and specialist settings about the nature of diversity and acceptance.

With parent/carer notes

Rachel studied Psychology at Royal Holloway University of London before training in counselling, coaching and NLP. She worked for 6 years in London as management consultant and went self employed in 2007 with a view to shifting her own work-life balance. Whilst travelling independently around South East Asia she met her South African partner, Brad and they settled where Rachel grew up in rural Suffolk. Rachel is now the mother of two boys - Leo (71/2) and Ben (53/4). She balances her own coaching, facilitation and leadership development company - Changing Dialogues Ltd with the challenges of bringing up a family. Leo was diagnosed in 2015 with High Functioning Asperger's. At risk of exclusion from successive local primary schools he has been welcomed for over two years in a fabulous Pupil Referral Unit near his home. Now taking daily taxi-treks to attend school in Cambridge....the nearest facility equipped for academically able autistic children with behavioural issues, Leo is just beginning the next phase in his own journey with Asperger's

Zeke Clough is an illustrator based in Todmorden, best known...so far...for his distinctive sleeve artwork for electronic musicians such as Shackleton and Ekoplekz. His partner of eight years has 14 year old autistic twins who go to a specialist communication school. Zeke's love of comic strips and drawing has proved to be an effective way to communicate with the boys. When they were younger their favourite toys were included in the comics - they either give advice or learned along with the boys. Many a meltdown or hazardous situation was circumvented by a quickly drawn explanatory comic strip! Zeke also works for a mental health charity supporting school children to develop an understanding of the importance of good mental health and providing them with a language to discuss these issues. His illustrations also support his work with refugees/asylum seekers and adults with mental health difficulties. In recent years, Zeke has been commissioned to support delegates at a number of neurodiversity conferences -drawing graphic notes to recall their learning effectively. In the future he hopes to publish his social stories more widely, and to continue to explore mental health and autism related issues through comic strips and animation.