“The premise was how we explain to other children that my son has Asperger and that it is not a bad thing, so that fear or strangeness that could be generated by his reactions had to become, rather, curiosity,” says the author. of the ‘Aspie, an Atypical puppy’.
His initial idea was to print only one hundred copies of the story to distribute among the friends of his son Vasco, who has Asperger’s syndrome. When he was six years old, he was just diagnosed, after going to the neurologist and the child psychiatrist, after several therapies and comings and goings with different specialists. Isabel receives us at her home, together with her family, hours before the presentation of the story. She is a kind of evangelizer of the asperger, that’s why she wrote the story, so that we all know a little more about this condition and that way any prejudice will disappear.
-Why were you interested in addressing the issue of the asperger?
Because I have a child with Asperger’s syndrome. When I was in school I wrote stories, in fact I wanted to study Literature or Philosophy, but I finished studying in the nineties and my mom told me that if I wanted one of those careers, I would have to pay for it. Then, I studied Law and I have always worked in law firms, but as a hobby I read a lot and I wrote some things, but I had never thought about publishing because I do not write at a professional level. I write because I like it.
– How was Aspie, your book?
My child is already entering the second grade of primary school and I am beginning to worry that his friends at school, which is a regular school, understand it better, because at six they are beginning to be noticed … I do not know if the differences, because At some point I asked him: ‘Basque, do you feel different?’ I wanted to see if I should talk about it and he said: ‘No, we are all different.’ But some are a little more, he, for example, has some unexpected reactions, which are neither good nor bad, just not expected
– That began to arouse curiosity in your friends?
Yes, in addition, we just had his diagnosis at six years old. The children were going to realize because he reaches all the learning goals in his school, but through a different process. He has great friends, but his dynamics are different. He likes to see how others play, but he does not like to participate much, he is overwhelmed by noises, he does not like to be crowded and everyone embraces him. That’s why the premise was how we explained to his friends that he has Asperguer and that it’s not a bad thing. Thus, that fear or strangeness that could be generated by their reactions should be turned into curiosity.
– Was it a story just for Vasco’s friends?
At the beginning yes. And my best ally in that subject was my daughter Catalina, who is the twin of Vasco. With it I started with the project. I had the idea, I was writing it and she made some drawings of our dog Tyrion. I told him we would use those images for the story. We finished it and I was going to send it to print on my own. I found out all the legal issues and tax issues. But when I went to the printing press, the gentlemen recommended me to send it to a publisher because it seemed nice to them. So I sent it to the email they gave me and after two hours they answered that they loved it and three months later it was published.
– What is the intention of this book?
I am convinced that it will help a lot so that the children and also the parents – that is why I have put a glossary at the end – understand what the asperger is. I spend as much time as possible in places like the tail of the bank or wherever it is to talk about Asperger syndrome, autism, to say how wonderful it is that you touch a son like that because it makes you special, makes your family different, in the best sense of the word. I did not have patience. My poor assistants, when I had no children, I could stand the screams, I wanted everything to be perfect. But after I became a mother, my patience increased exponentially, and when you are the mother of a child with autism, patience has no limits.
– How is the coexistence in school?
He is terrified of change. The teacher should let you know in advance if they are going to do something different from their routine, since there may be wonderful news, but Vasco refuses to do them if they have not told him before. Fortunately, he has amazing friends who call him “Vasquito, do not be afraid”. They come close to containing it and that fear that may have disappeared.
