Although autism spectrum disorder is not named directly in Clovis is afraid of clouds, this phobia is part of this new story imagined by Guylaine Guay and illustrated by Orbie. Mother of two now adult autists, Guylaine was inspired by a situation she and her son Clovis experienced when he was a child. The story of the little blonde with curly curls and his mother is tender, full of love and compassion, and openness to others.
After the success of Clovis is still naked, first album of the series Clovis, Guylaine Guay and Orbie worked on another feature of Clovis. The endearing little blond with curly hair worries and cries when he sees clouds of all shapes and colors that darken the sky.
Everyone tries to help her live better with this emotion, starting with her mother. Creative, she offers all kinds of solutions until she finds one that really helps.
Guylaine Guay plays down the experience of a non-verbal autistic child, in this second album of the series, which will have five (at least!). “Orbie really understood all the sweetness, tenderness and humor in the albums. In every book, my muse is my son, Clovis, who will be turning 18 soon and who has non-verbal autism. All Clovis albums will be inspired by real events, lived events, ”she comments.
In the first album, Clovis is still naked, she said that Clovis was always undressing everywhere, because of his sensory sensitivity.
Angry weather
However, there was a time when his son Clovis was really afraid of clouds, and he is still worried today when the sun does not shine in the sky. This is the subject of the new book. “For him, the weather is anxious. There is something about the atmospheric pressure, in the clouds, when the sky is heavy, that makes him very anxious, for real, even today. “
“He wakes up in the morning, goes around all the windows in the house. When we wait for the school bus, we walk to the corner of the street so that it sees the horizon, to see what is coming. He really feels the weather. ”
Today, it’s a little less worse, adds the author. “At school, the occupational therapist works with him using pictograms. There is a quiet room, where he can take refuge when it is cloudy, because there are no windows. Still, the weather, in Clovis’s life, takes up a lot of space. In mine too, by the same token. “
Guylaine looked for solutions, and found a very original one for the book. She would have liked to have had the idea of painting a sun in an umbrella ten years ago … “I drew suns on her blinds, suns in her window. Still, the book speaks of an irrational fear. There are always clouds in the sky, so that complicates everyday life. ”
In solution mode
She adds that in all of Clovis’s albums, the character of the caring mother seeks solutions to make him better. “In each album, a theme will be approached, and in the next one, it will surely be on the small repetitive behaviors that some autistic children have, such as walking on tiptoes or flapping. ” She also plans to talk about echolalia (repeat the words) or food rigidities.
However, she never names autism in the book. “We don’t say that Clovis is autistic. It is an artistic choice. I really wanted the book to be for everyone. It still opens discussions on the difference. ”
- Guylaine Guay is a graduate of the National School of Humor.
- She is a host, speaker, columnist and actress.
- She published Two boys looking at mother, a successful story in which she tells about her daily life with her two autistic sons, Léo and Clovis.
- She is a sponsor of the Véro et Louis Foundation, which helps people with an autism spectrum disorder.
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