Kate Gaynor - A Friend Like Simon

This SPECIAL STORIES BOOK Belongs To:

FOREWORD

We all cherish our children and nothing gives us greater pleasure than our children building friendships. Through this story we want to raise awareness that children with autism can be your best friend. Thank you for supporting us and the work that we do in building greater awareness in Ireland of autism.

KEITH DUFFY, PATRON IRISH AUTISM ACTION

Text copyright Kate Gaynor, 2009

Illustrations copyright Caitrona Sweeney, 2009

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the owner of the copyright and the publisher of this book.

The names, characters and incidents portrayed in all of these works are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

Published in 2009 by

Special Stories Publishing

Member of CL The Irish Book Publishers Association

Designed by Graham Thew Design www.grahamthew.com

ISBN 978 0 9561751 2 0

ISBN 978 0 9555787 7 9 (e-book)

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Printed by C&C Offset Printing Co, Ltd, China.

Special Stories Publishing

www.specialstories.ie

Hi! My name is Matthew and I would like to tell you a story about a friend of mine. His name is Simon. Simon joined my school last year and I remember his first day very well indeed.

When I arrived at the door of my classroom, Simon was standing outside with his Mum. Hi, Im Matthew, I said.

Simons mum gave me a big smile. Its nice to meet you Matthew, she said. Simon, would you like to say hello to Matthew? she asked. But Simon just turned away and looked at the ground.

Our teacher told us that Simon would be joining our class that year. He would take part in most of our lessons but sometimes he would get help with his work from a special teacher too.

I thought Simon would like our school a lot. It really is a great school, apart from just one thing, a girl called Hettie, or horrible Hettie as I liked to call her.

Hettie was always pushing her way to the front of the queue at lunch. Im next, shed say when it was someone elses turn and then she would make a horrible mean face.

Every day after we ate our lunch, my friends and I would go to the school yard and make up new fun games to play.

On Simons first day I asked him if he wanted to join in. But Simon seemed to like being on his own.

As time went by I noticed how Simon acted a little differently from the other boys and girls in my class. Sometimes he would get upset about something small like someone bumping into him by accident. No one could understand why or even what he was upset about.

Simon always liked to arrange the books and pencils on his desk in the same way every day. He didnt like it very much when anything changed at all. Sometimes he would get upset about things like the school bell ringing or having to move seats.

Because Simon was a little different from my other friends, I soon stopped asking him to take part in games and sometimes I got annoyed if teacher tried to get him to join in. I just wasnt sure if I wanted to have a friend like Simon.

When the time came for the big school trip to the funfair, all the boys and girls had to pair up and find someone to sit with on the bus. Why dont you and Simon pair together today? asked our teacher.

So Simon and I sat together on the way to the funfair. Simon took out his sandwiches. Do you like sandwiches? I asked him Do you like sandwiches? he repeated and then he handed me his lunchbox to share them with me. Thanks Simon, I said, but Simon was busy looking out of the window.

Later that day, while Simon and I were waiting in the queue for our ice-cream, horrible Hettie marched over to the ice-cream van. Im next, she said in a mean voice.

Just as horrible Hettie was starting to push her way in front of us to the top of the queue, Simon suddenly shouted NO! very loudly indeed. Hettie got such a fright her pigtails flew up in the air! She quickly turned around and ran off.

Thanks Simon, I said. Thanks Simon, he replied looking up at the lights of the big Ferris wheel.

From that day onwards I always made sure to ask Simon if he wanted to have lunch with me or play a game during break time. Some days he would join in, but other days he just wanted to be on his own, which was okay too.