Karen Murphy, who worked as a learning mentor in a primary school in Camden for 25 years, said she wanted other children to understand that being autistic and non-verbal doesn’t stop Codey from having fun, and that he enjoys many of the same things as other children his age.
The Story of Codey Crowe includes rhymes and illustrations from photographs taken by Karen with each page showing everyday play and activities Codey enjoys, including spinning on a roundabout, scaling the climbing frame, and playing outside in all weathers – ‘The rain doesn’t bother him, he likes to get wet. He’ll stay out all day until the sun starts to set.’
He ‘loves swimming’ and is pictured with his two sisters Darcey, 10, and Nell, two-and-a-half – ‘They play with him daily and care for him well.’
Karen told Nursery World she first started writing poems about Codey and then printing off photographs, which she changed into line drawings on an app. She then printed these off and painted them in watercolour, and the idea for a book grew.
‘It was very therapeutic at the time.’
Initially Karen had a few copies of the book printed for her family but was encouraged to try and get the book published more widely by friends and colleagues in the early years sector, including the Camden local authority inclusion team.
'Lucia Mills [the inclusion and Area SENCO Manager, at Camden council] 'encouraged me to get it published. She was the occupational therapist who worked with Codey in [Polkadots] nursery. Codey had left the nursery, and I gave my friend who worked in the nursery a copy of the book and she saw it and said, "That’s amazing, I absolutely love it", and she invited me to come and see her and said I should get it published.’
Karen was able to get it published and it’s now available through shops including Amazon and Waterstones, with the council distributing it in schools and nurseries in the borough.
Until last year, Karen worked at St Dominic’s Primary School supporting children from three to-11-years-old with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, ‘a job she loved every second’.
Karen hopes the book will help other children to understand why some children might behave differently to them, and said she has had many conversations with children who love playing with Codey and sometimes ask questions.
Codey (left) in the park with his grandma Karen PHOTO Karen Murphy
Karen said, ‘I would just like other children to be aware why some autistic children behave like that. It’s ok you can ask questions. It’s nice that other children realise that there are other children that act differently [to them], and they can’t help it.
‘I want them to be more accepting and more understanding, there’s a reason why he’s doing that. Sometimes in playgrounds, some kids will go, “Oh, that's okay. I've got kids like that in my class. He can go before me”, because he can't queue. They’ll say, “You can’t go up the slide forwards”, [because] Codey will climb up a bit. It’s nice for other kids to understand that there's a reason why some kids do that and are not able to follow instructions like they are.’
While Codey received a lot of support from Polkadots, the nursery he attended, it was a different story when he started Reception in mainstream school.
Karen said, ‘It’s about bringing awareness and a bit more understanding. People say they’re inclusive, but he wasn’t included in the Christmas play. It broke my heart. Why can’t he be in it, because he is a bit different? He’s in the class, he should be in the play.’
Codey now attends a special school where he is receiving support, with occupational therapy and speech and language therapy, and swimming twice a week. ‘It’s really important that he’s learnt to swim,’ she said.
Karen wants to raise more awareness of the challenges children with autism face, mentioning that Codey has only just seen a paediatrician for the first time.
She said, ‘There’s just not enough help out there. You're given a diagnosis, and that's it. Get on with it. Basically, you wouldn't believe it. You would not believe that there was nothing, nothing. If I didn’t have an autistic grandson, I would be presuming that there would be carers coming around. There is absolutely nothing.’
Karen is delighted that children in schools and nurseries are enjoying the book.
His cousin took Codey’s book to school and the class made Karen a book themselves which said, “We like to jump, we like to throw”, echoing the activities that Codey also enjoys.
‘My friend at Polkadots says that every day children are asking, “Can we have the Codey book?”’ she said.
- The Story of Codey Crowe by Karen Murphy is available now.
