Romance authors help to raise autism awareness

April is National Autism Awareness Month. Authors Kennedy Ryan and Ginger Scott have organized Lift: Authors Raising Autism Awareness for the month, and Kennedy, author of Be Mine Forever, joins us here to share her experience raising a son with autism and how authors are including autistic characters in their books.

Kennedy: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurological condition characterized by significant developmental delays in the areas of communication, socialization and behavior.

It sounds so sterile when you define it. To me autism is the odd noises my son makes, drawing puzzled looks from strangers. It's the way he can meet my eyes for only a few seconds before he has to look away. It's the way he often relies on pictures and devices to communicate because words, even though he is 14 years old, elude him more often than not.

But it's also the purest love I've ever encountered. It's the way he, even though chronologically a teenager, still wants me to hold his hand and kiss his knuckles. The way he walks over to younger children he's never met when they're crying just to make sure they're OK.

One in 68 children is diagnosed with autism every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). My son was diagnosed 12 years ago when he was 2, and my husband and I have been adjusting our hopes, dreams and expectations ever since. One of the most difficult adjustments has been the lack of understanding and compassion we often encounter from many who have no idea what autism is, or how it affects the hundreds of thousands of families living with it.

The picture I painted above humanizes autism. It fleshes out the flat, cardboard, Rain Man stereotype so many still believe. Ginger Scott, A. Meredith Walters and Penelope Ward all have use the art of storytelling to present those on the autism spectrum as the remarkably dimensioned people so many of us live with and love.

Autism is a spectrum condition, meaning my child with autism and someone else's may present completely differently. Maybe mine is hyperactive, and another is hypoactive. Maybe mine has behavioral challenges, and another doesn't. Maybe mine is non-verbal, and another doesn't know when to stop talking.

Ginger Scott's book How We Deal With Gravity features Max, a 5-year-old boy on the autism spectrum, like other kids his age, learning to navigate a world of playgrounds and classrooms; learning to make friends. Scott brilliantly leverages these common environments and situations to demonstrate the things ASD kids share with neurotypical children, while presenting the obstacles that may complicate these contexts for them even more.

Scott, who first encountered autism as a journalist writing an in-depth article on the subject, had to account for the nuances that characterize many ASD children, like difficulty making eye contact, sensory-based stemming, awkward speech patterns and trouble understanding social subtleties like sarcasm. Scott built elements like these into Max's characterization.

"Every child has strengths and weaknesses," says Scott. "Autism is a very heavy barrier sometimes, but it also allows you to see the world differently."

New York Times bestseller A. Meredith Walters wrote Reclaiming the Sand about Flynn, a young boy who has Asperger's, a higher-functioning form of autism. Unlike many of those on the more severe end, most Aspies are very verbal, and often highly intelligent, but still battle many of the same sensory and social challenges as those more impacted individuals.

Walters, who worked as a counselor for almost a decade and treated several Aspie clients, called on her professional experience and extensive parental interviews to find Flynn's voice and perspective.

"It was extremely important for me to depict this character with sensitivity, but also realistically," says Walters. "I wrote from Flynn's point of view many times throughout the story, and I would send those chapters to my friends to make sure I had it right."

Walters begins the story when Flynn is a child, but follows him into a season that, for many, can be harder to navigate than even the harrowing early years — adulthood. Walters demonstrated how love and intimacy in an adult relationship can prove particularly challenging for those on the spectrum. Derived from the Greek word "autos," meaning self, autism makes it hard to connect with others, and in many cases causes emotional detachment. Love involves considering your partner, being sensitive to their needs and deep emotional connectivity, all of which prove difficult for many with autism.

"An ASD character reacts and processes behavior in a very different way. Flynn wasn't vocal about his feelings because he didn't know how to be. He shied away from physical touch," says Walters. "When they were finally physically intimate, it had to be done in a way that demonstrated Flynn's limitations. But at the end of the day, this character loved and felt deeply, just like everyone else."

New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward also features an ASD adult, but one at the more severe end of the spectrum. In Gemini, we meet Callie, a 24-year-old ASD woman, through her brother Cedric, the hero. Allison, the heroine, works with Callie as a therapist in applied behavioral analysis (ABA), a behavioral intervention designed to decrease adverse behaviors and improve communication and socialization. Ward pulled from her experiences as an ASD parent to authentically represent Callie.

"My 10-year-old daughter has had ABA therapists since she was 3," says Ward. "By making the main female character an ABA therapist, I was able to show what it's like working with people on the spectrum."

Ward chose to write about an adult female with autism because her daughter will become one and will face those challenges.

Statistics and the images we see often highlight ASD children, but our society now faces something we never have before — an unprecedented, burgeoning adult ASD population. Autism, in the span of a generation, has risen from relative obscurity, one in about every 20,000, to become the fastest-growing developmental disability, outpacing cancer, AIDS, cystic fibrosis and Down Syndrome diagnoses among children. These ASD children have a typical life expectancy, and will become adults. Autism Speaks projects that 500,000 children with autism will become adults over the next decade. Our infrastructures — health care, insurance, education, workforce — are woefully unprepared for a population that will be, for a large part, dependent to some degree.

This is not going away. Its explosive surge in prevalence means most of us, at least tangentially, know someone on the spectrum. Whether it's a young child newly diagnosed, a higher-functioning adult or someone who will need support their entire lives, people with autism are a diverse group we must learn to understand, respect and support accordingly. Each of these authors used their talent in service to that mission.

Walters' story, which exposed the bullying and cruelty many ASD kids face because of their differences, underscores the need for compassion.

"Loving and being loved by someone with ASD is the most amazing experience," says Walters. "Differences and limitations shouldn't define a relationship, but only add to it."

Ward remains committed to using her work not only to entertain, but also to educate for the sake of those living with autism, including her own daughter.

"I know while she will make some small improvements over the years, she will not miraculously grow out of her autism," says Ward. "There is no one-size-fits-all. Kids on the spectrum range from very high functioning, with mainly only social challenges, to completely non-verbal adults who are not even potty trained."

Each of these stories does its part to realistically portray the breadth of the autism spectrum. I used to underestimate "awareness" because it can be hard to measure the results. I understand now, though, the importance of being aware.

Maybe that man last week at the pool would not have gathered his kids close and left when my son started making noises if he was more aware. Maybe that elderly woman years ago would not have walked up to me in a restaurant demanding that I medicate my son if she had been more aware. Maybe those kids who circled my son last summer at the water park, teasing and imitating his mannerisms, would not have done so had they been more aware. This month we will be bombarded with facts, statistics, public service announcements and commercials to heighten our awareness. Because of stories like these, because of characters like these, because of people like my son, I urge you to pay attention.

Kennedy Ryan is author of the Amazon bestselling Bennett series. In "real life," she is Tina Dula, mom to a beautiful son on the Autism Spectrum, and a friend to those living with autism through her foundation Myles-A-Part, serving Georgia families. Find out more about Lift and Kennedy's books at kennedyryanwrites.com.