12-year-old Rylan thrives and struggles with Autism and Tourette Syndrome. He and his Mama Bird, Gwen, have created a one-of-a-kind picture book that will uplift, educate, create dialogue, and entertain. Rylan's art and insightful descriptions will allow readers to enter the brain of a child who sees, feels, and understands the world from a refreshingly unique perspective. This book reminds us how important it is to listen to each other in an effort to truly understand and to assume immense value in one another. Our stories matter and we all have one to share. "If I Squeeze Your Head I'm Sorry," is an inclusive experience, so get on board Broskis
About the AuthorMcLaughlin, Ellie: - Ellie is a freelance graphic designer, entrepreneur and lover of all things creative. When she isn't sitting at her computer, she's reading, working on her 1978 home, nestled in the Colorado pines, or connecting with other special needs and adoptive families. She and her husband, Stephen, try their best to provide new and creative resources for their daughter Lexi, who has Autism, and their younger daughter Ainsley, who has unquenchable thirst for knowledge. For more about Ellie, visit www.finchandpinedesign.com
Vogelzang, Rylan: - Rylan owns his Autism and Tourettes like a boss. He's an imaginative kid with passions for Pokemon, Minecraft, things that morph, all creatures bigger than an Eastern American toad, magic, squeezing things, art, imitating crickets, graphic novels, supportive friends, complicated lego sets, telekinesis, God, and his adventurous family. Rylan believes that we all have special needs in our own ways and notices the color of your eyes first. He's epically stoked to become a famous author.
Vogelzang, Gwen: - Gwen is a writer, an inclusion advocate, and a serial entrepreneur. She left a 15 year career in non-profit marketing to journey through leadership in the world of special needs advocacy. Gwen is an adoptive Mama to Rylan and his independent and kind-spirited younger sister, Reagan. Along with her handsome Dutchman husband, Tim, Gwen is clumsily navigating life in a log cabin in their 5 acre woods in Grand Rapids, Michigan. When she's not writing you'll find her running her Airstream rental business, Four Birds Mobile.
