Grandma’s Colorful Books Help Autistic Kids Share Their Feelings

Joann Jones, a grandmother from Bristol, has made a big difference in her granddaughter Zaeah's life by creating a series of books designed to help her express her emotions. Zaeah is five years old and lives with autism, which makes it very hard for her to speak and communicate her feelings. Joann, who works as a learning assistant for students with special educational needs and disabilities, noticed that Zaeah was struggling to let her family know how she felt. This inspired Joann to write and publish ten books that use colors to represent different emotions, making it easier for Zaeah to communicate.

Before Joann created the books, she and Zaeah's mother tried using nursery rhymes and television programs to encourage Zaeah to speak. However, expressing emotions was still a major challenge for Zaeah, and it often led to frustration and distress for both her and her family. Zaeah's mother described how not being able to communicate resulted in physical expressions of her feelings, such as face scratching, hair pulling, and meltdowns. These behaviors were her way of trying to be heard when she didn't know how to say what she was feeling.

Joann wanted to find a way to help Zaeah, so she began researching and visiting bookshops to look for resources about emotions for neurodivergent children. She found that there were very few books that addressed the emotional needs of young children with autism. Joann realized that colors are something everyone understands, even very young children, so she decided to use colors to help Zaeah express her feelings. Each of the ten books associates a specific emotion with a color, allowing Zaeah to point to the color that matches how she feels. This simple system has made a huge difference in Zaeah's ability to communicate.

Speech and language therapist Rysha Flint praised Joann's idea, saying that many children with autism struggle with abstract concepts like emotions, and associating emotions with colors is a helpful strategy. Zaeah's mother also noticed a big improvement, explaining that the books help Zaeah see and hear the emotions, and the colors make it easier for her to understand. By giving Zaeah different ways to express herself, her family hopes she will continue to learn new words and become more comfortable sharing her feelings. Joann decided to publish her books across the UK so that other families could benefit from her approach. The books have already made a positive impact on Zaeah and her family, and they hope that other children with autism will find them helpful too.