Mother, son celebrate developmental disability awareness
Mar. 23—JEFFERSON — A mother-son duo conducted two book signings on Saturday to help celebrate Developmental Disability Awareness Month.
Kate Church and her 9-year-old son son, Zac were in town at the invitation of the Ashtabula County Board of Developmental Disabilities.
The first event took place at Giddings Hall in Jefferson, and the second at the Geneva Public Library on Saturday afternoon.
The dynamic duo, from Shelby, are both on the autism spectrum. Kate Church said she was diagnosed with autism at the age of 30, and wants to make sure her son doesn't have to live in a particular box created by society.
"I started [writing] five years ago as an exercise in creative liberty," she said.
She said she started her first book in 2019, and it was published in 2020.
"I have done four books in five years," Church said.
She said the most recent book, "Splat the Dinosaur," was more of a collaboration with her son.
"We used to drive back and forth to Rocky River [from Shelby] and we'd tell each other stories," Church said.
Those stories ended up as a base for the book.
Church said Zac was very much a part of creating the book, and she even made sure he was involved in consultation with the book artist, who also is on the autism spectrum. She said she wanted to make sure the renderings matched her son's vision of the dinosaur.
Zac hung out at the book signing table and mingled with others attending the event.
Church said she was forced to fit into a societal mold, and is trying to make sure her son doesn't have the same experience. She said the newest book is about a variety of topics, including bullying, and the dinosaur's decision to remain kind even when he isn't treated well.
Angela Thomas, a community outreach specialist for the ACBDD, coordinated the event to celebrate the developmental disabilities week.
