Writing A Book For Kids With Autism Helped A Leawood Author See A 'Quiet Hero' In Her Son

Her son, who is now 22, wasn’t diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome until third grade when the family moved from Washington, D.C., to the Blue Valley School District. Before that, the teachers who'd known him for years reported that he was just quirky and not to worry about him.

The stress of moving halfway across the country exacerbated her son's condition, Bailey says, which might have led to self-harm or harming others; he would have been labeled a child with a behavioral problem rather than one who needed assistance.

"We feel like moving to Kansas was a blessing. It's one of the few states that really has a great program for this," Bailey says.

As she and her family learned about autism, they found many books for parents, but few for children.