A schoolgirl from East Belfast has written a book about her older brother's experience with severe autism.
Tabitha Jennings, 11, wrote the book to educate other young people about non-verbal autism to develop a greater understanding of the condition.
The Gilnahirk Primary School pupil began telling stories about Micah to other students in her P7 class. When her teacher Gary Halliday saw this he gave her space to tell stories as it was helping other pupils learn.
Building upon her love of writing with the help of Mr Halliday, Tabitha's book was finally released, with the school hosting a book launch event earlier this week.
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Tabitha's mum Donna told Belfast Live it can be challenging for the youngster growing up alongside a child with severe non-verbal autism. However, she said the 11-year old has a unique way of expressing her love for her older brother.
"Tabitha was born at 5pm on a Tuesday and Micah got his diagnosis the very next morning. It really has been all her life, her whole life experience has been dominated by Micah's autism and everything that entails," Donna said.
"Micah has autism and a severe learning difficulty with complex and challenging needs. His needs are very immediate, he's non-verbal, he's doesn't sleep much and has a whole load of energy.
"In school he's a two to one support, he's just a hands on person, he lives in the immediate and caring for him needs to be urgent. So Tabiha's life as a sibling has been really shaped by that.
"In some ways we're concerned that it's hard for her, in the last chapter of the book she said she didn't get as much attention if she would have if she had a brother who didn't have autism. But it's also been very enriching for her, and has shaped her character and how she sees the world.
"She's grown up living alongside Micah, and loving him as her brother. As she's gotten older, she realises the complexities of his behaviour but still loves him. That's something she grapples with, the greatest frustrations of her life and the deepest love of her life come from the same person.
"When Micah was going into P4 and she was going into P1, we did that Facebook social media picture on the first day of school. We said Tabitha is going into P1 and wants to be a baker when she grows up.
"The next day Micah was going into P4 and Tabitha said 'you need to do a picture for Micah' so we did, but I didn't write anything about what he was going to be when he grows up. Tabitha said 'no you have to write what he's going to be when he grows up' and I was thinking 'I'm going to have to explain to her he's not going to be the train driver, or the pizza delivery man that she thought was really cool.'
"I asked her what I should write, and she didn't even need to blink, she said 'when Micah grows up he will be my children's uncle.' She knows he has a disability, she knows all his restrictions - but she sees the person and the relationship above the functionality other people see."
The family had a challenging experience throughout lockdown in terms of caring for Micah. Donna said Tabitha struggled through this period, and when she returned to school she had a word with her teacher.
Donna soon discovered her daughter had been telling her class stories about her 14-year-old brother and everything they would get up to together. Seeing it as having an educational impact on her classmates, Tabitha's teacher gave her the space to continue.
"At a parent-teacher meeting her teacher, Mr Halliday, said her literacy ability was through the roof," she said.
"He said she's telling the class stories about Micah in a beautiful and creative way, and he was noticing the children were intrigued and asking questions. They were wanting to know more and hear more of her stories, so her teacher was giving her space to tell those stories as it was helping the other children.
"Tabitha was saying a lot of her class had never met someone like Micah, as children like him tend to go to very specialist schools. She said it was good she was able to tell them about him, as it'll help them think differently as they get older and meet people like him.
"Her teacher said about getting her wee stories together into a book. He really made the process happen. He got a contact with his who has a graphic design and printing company and they talked to Tabitha, and helped get her stories together into a book."
In her book, 'Micah My Big Little Brother,' Tabitha explores the everyday intricacies of their relationship, from going on family holidays, to the park, or out for dinner.
Donna said: "She loves to write and has always wanted to write about Micah. She writes lots of different little stories, and said 'one day wouldn't it be good if I could write a book about Micah.'
"Now as it comes to fruition and seeing her friends' response at the book launch, I think she realised this is a story that needs to be told, and she felt very honoured to be able to tell it.
"How she describes autism in it and explains the things she sees and he does because of his autism - I couldn't put it into language for children in the way she has."
Going forward, they are hoping to secure a publisher to spread the book further. They're hoping it can be used as a teaching aid at Key Stage Two level in schools, to help children become more aware of a more challenging form of autism.
As well as this, they are talking about using the book as a way to bring children's voices into the public space.
"A few charities who support people with complex needs have started sibling support groups since lockdown because of the impact it had on siblings," Donna explained.
"We're talking about getting an event in Stormont to get some political representatives to listen to these siblings, bring the book and do some storytelling, talk about policies that aren't meeting the needs of their siblings, and bring the sibling voice of disability into Stormont to do some work there."
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