Father Co-authors Book with 11 year-old Autistic Son

The Twelve Weeks of Summer is a book written by father-son duo, Joseph Andrade and his 11-year-old son, Joey Jr. What makes this book special is that Joey Jr. is autistic. One hot summer day, the pair were out swimming. Joseph decided to test his son by encouraging him to adapt the 12 days of Christmas, to the 12 weeks of Summer. Joey quickly chimed in, and using his penchant for creativity, the song unveiled itself as a lively ode to summertime.

To make their song come alive, they decided to turn it into an art project. They sketched out each scene. After realizing that they may have something special on their hands they contacted an illustrator. The rest, as they say, is history. Joseph hopes the book will break barriers and change the way people view autistic children. The book is available through: http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.autismspeaks.org/ and www.createspace.com/3828061.

Best,

Ciji Dodds
Miss International 2011