April is World Autism Month and one multitalented student at Howard S. Billings High School in Chateauguay, Que., is doing what she can to tackle stigmas around the condition.
She wrote a children’s book about a robot named Robin who has autism.
“I want people to understand autism more that it’s not just a disorder, it’s a blessing,” 16 year-old Annabel Adewunmi told Global News.
The book is personal in that she sees aspects of herself in the character, because she’s is autistic, something she says has been a challenge.
“Sometimes, yes,” she said. People will says that, ‘Oh Annabel is not really the smartest,’ or ‘Annabel is really weird,’ or like ‘she’s dumb’ and stuff, and it makes me feel really sad.”
The book, Our Brother Robin, is a pushback against that.
She’s also trying to make a point, stressing that having autism has been mostly positive for her.
“It’s been amazing for me because I’ve brought so many good things in life,” she laughed, pointing to her numerous achievements.
Our Brother Robin is her first published book and is available on Amazon, but she has more than 30 manuscripts.
“Oh I would say she started writing around 7 or 8 (years old),” her mother, Iyeghewu Omorodion, said.
She also illustrates all of her stories.
On top of that, the teen sings and performs in school theatre productions and, according to Omorodion, her daughter has always had numerous interests.
“A lot,” she laughed. “She told me, ‘I want to be a singer, an actress, an author.’ So I said, don’t worry, you can be anything you want. Just one at a time.
Starting Thursday she will begin a book tour of New Frontiers School Board elementary schools to read from her new book.
“She’s going to present at seven in Autism Awareness Month, and we’ve had requests from schools in Montreal,” explained teacher Katrina Valade who’s organizing the tour.
Adewunmi already has ideas for other books.