Sophie Finds a Friend

The book is targeted towards young children on the autism spectrum. It stars "Sophie" a small, round, fat, yellow Labrador puppy as she goes through an adventure where she discovers and reacts with her emotions and empathy. As children with autism often have difficulty understanding and showing emotions, Sophie non-verbally shares the emotions of happy and sad with a shy boy. By showing emotion and empathy from a dog's point of view, it also encourages children to connect with their humaneness and empathy for other people and animals. Early intervention techniques, such as interacting one on one with parents and teachers helps children on the autism spectrum support their communication skills. Research currently being done with early intervention strategies are finding significant improvements for these young children. The book Sophie Finds a Friend was created to assist in these strategies.