A few years ago, author Miriam Smith was looking for a book for her grandson, a young boy on the autism spectrum who had difficulty communicating. She easily found books for everyone related to a child with autism-parents, siblings, friends, teachers, therapists-but few books for the child himself. She decided to change that. Teaming up with her two daughters, Afton Fraser, mother of the boy who inspired the book, and Margo Smithwick, a photographer, Miriam Smith created a beautiful picture book that would not only entertain the child with autism but, through the use of the attached pointer, enhance the therapeutic process.
Point to Happy is the first of its kind: a picture book with an attached pointer created for children with ASD. It asks children to convey their immediate wants and needs, their experiences, and their feelings by pointing to images representing objects, actions or emotions. The first page shows a picture of a smiling child and asks the reader to "point to happy". Subsequent pages ask the child to point to pictures of "hug", "sleepy", "apple", "loud", "swinging", "yellow", "wake up", "read a story", "elbow", images of family and friends that parents can add, and more. Written in consultation with autism expert Toni Giannone, a speech/language pathologist who has been the director of two schools for students with ASD, and has recently founded her own school, The Speech Academy.
