Arleen McCarthy is the author of the new children's picture book My Friend John. She is a public school teacher in New York City.
Q: What inspired you to write My Friend John?
A: My older brother suffers from Tourette Syndrome, and I wanted to bring awareness and acceptance to this specific disorder.
Q: What do you think the book says about friendship?
A: It conveys the very important message that friends make you feel good, friends make you feel safe. Friends can empower you to be resilient.
Q: How did your experiences as a teacher affect the writing of the book?
A: As a veteran teacher, I witnessed a lot and I felt we needed a book like this in our schools. We should be cultivating classrooms filled with empathy and kindness. We should embrace neurodiversity and practice inclusivity in all classrooms. We need more stories like My Friend John.
Q: What do you hope kids take away from the story?
A: I want children to be kind to each other. I want children to embrace neurodiversity and embrace all students with or without a disability. I want children to be empathetic. I want children to become leaders!
Q: What are you working on now?
A: Promoting this very important story!
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Yes, I have two older brothers with special needs. One has Tourette Syndrome and one has Autism.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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