CHICAGO -- A Chicago-area teenager with Asperger's syndrome is living his dream of being a published author, something he has been planning for since he was in second grade.
In an age where Transformers and Harry Potter characters are loved by the public, Steven Butler Jr'.s The Lost Worlds of Buckstevenson (pictured) has created a new set of characters with series of adventures.
"It's about, like, what if I go to this universe where they say like I'm God or my characters call me God?" said Steven. "And so basically, I go to a world where my characters are real and they call me God, and I have to save the day from the bad guys -- like save the world -- and it has like my dog and my friends and my family in it too."
Born with club feet and then diagnosed with Asperger, 18-year-old Steven Butler Jr. has other challenges.
"I have multiple disorders, probably, I was diagnosed with so many other the years. Asperger's is one of them, and rumor has it I have OCD, ADD, some people think I have bi-polar," said Steven.
While most teenagers are trying to figure out their future, Steven got an early start.
"How it worked was, originally I first started writing books, I didn't actually technically write them, it was like my teacher aide would write them, and I just drew the pictures, and she said, 'Why don't you write them?' Or something happened and then I became the writer. Thus, I 'm still doing it today, where hopefully I can get a career out of writing books or even turning my books into movies."
Steven's dad Steven Sr. remembers how it all started.
"He starting writing first or second grade, and it was more, you know, asking his mom and his sister, 'Would you write for me?' He would draw a picture, and that's where it started, and he's never stopped since. So for the kid that couldn't read or really couldn't talk for a while, he came to learn how," said Steven Sr.
Steven Jr''s book, The Lost Worlds of Buckstevenson, was published in March.
"Hopefully my book sales will come in to play," said Steven Jr. "Hopefully, if we can pay for it, I want to go to Flashpoint Academy, which is a film school so I can learn the film medium, mostly for my cartoons and animation."
"It's funny about having Asperger's: you get into this one focus of things. What I mean is, you have a certain phase where you get into this thing deeply -- like I have a lot of them -- and some of them stay permanently, where you're still into them, but you come back and forth. But some of them stay," said Steven Jr.
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Saturday, July 17, 2010
Chicago teen with Asperger's authors adventure book
From WLS-TV: