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.
We plan to publish the book on April 2, 2013, for Autism Awareness Month.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
For submissions: submissions go to http://chickensoup.com, select the Submit Your Story link on the left tool bar and follow the directions.
Website: http://chickensoup.com
This blog is no longer updated. Please instead visit Writers For Diversity for new opportunities for women/ LGBT writers and writers of color. Thank you.
