Chicken Soup for the Soul Book Needs Autism Stories

This Special Announcement was distributed via email by Chicken Soup for the Soul publishers and is copied here in it's entirety to help share the information with the autism community.

New Chicken Soup for the Soul Book:
For Parents of Children with Autism or Asperger's

If you are the parent of a child, from newborn to college age, with autism or Asperger's, we invite you to share your story about raising your child - the ups and downs, the effect on your family and marriage, your child's special attributes and talents, and the lighter moments too. These stories will provide advice, comfort and insight to other parents in the same situation.

Please send us only non-fiction stories and poems written in the first person of no more than 1,200 words. These must be your personal stories - things that happened to you or someone you were close to. You may use a "pen name" on your story. Your story should not have been previously published by Chicken Soup for the Soul or other major publications.

Here are some suggested topics, but we know you can think of many more:

How you first recognized the symptoms

Meeting the challenges of everyday life

Academic struggles or brilliance

Good and bad experiences with school administrations

Appreciating your child for exactly who he/she is

Helping your child build a social life

Successful treatments - what has worked for you

Helping siblings and family members cope

The effect on your marriage and personal relationships

The importance of taking time for yourself

The importance of a support system

The lighter side

The positive side - benefits of autism or Asperger's

Please remember, we do not like "as told to" stories. Please write in the first person about yourself or someone close to you. If you ghostwrite a story for someone else we will list his or her name as the author. If a story was previously published, we will probably not use it unless it ran in a small circulation venue. Let us know where the story was previously published in the "Comments" section of the submission form. If the story was published in a past Chicken Soup for the Soul book, please do not submit it.

If your story is chosen, you will be a published author and your bio will be printed in the book if you so choose. You will also receive a check for $200 and 10 free copies of your book, worth more than $100. You will retain the copyright for your story and you will retain the right to resell it.

SUBMISSIONS GO TO http://chickensoup.com.
Select the Submit Your Story link on the left tool bar and follow the directions.

DEADLINE IS September 30, 2012
We plan to publish the book on April 2, 2013, for Autism Awareness Month.

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This information was forwarded to me by Ken Wachsberger and was provided as an announcement by Chicken Soup for the Soul. It has been featured on other blogs such as Mommy Life. Autism Light has no relationship with the Chicken Soup for the Soul company.