Mother-daughter duo write a book about Autism

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Teaching has always been a passion for mother, daughter duo Judy Cohen and Mindee Pinto. As both have spent years working in schools, they saw the difficulties the growing number of children with Autism were facing in the classroom.

"Parents who have children on the Autism Spectrum continually said to me he can do this, he can work in this classroom but the behaviors are so interfering that nobody truly understands him," said Cohen.

To help people understand, Cohen and Pinto decided to write a book. "Mikey" was published last year, which takes people into the life of a young boy at school coping with Autism.

"They're sensory processing is very hyper-vigilant and they have this inability to separate that. So it impacts how they see the world and they act in the classroom," said Cohen.

The book educates kids and teachers about the disorder and how to promote success in the classroom.

"With Mikey there is a part in the book where he uses visuals, where it shows him it's okay to have a picture of what will happen next in his day that's another tool that teachers need to implement in their classrooms," said Pinto.

"Mikey" has been used in schools around the world, which is having a big impact as more children are being diagnosed with this disorder.

"Statistics have said one in 84 children will be diagnosed, possibly one in 50 boys. So we have increase of almost 40% of children," said Cohen.

Helping people understand and accept children with Autism.

"Mikey" is available on Amazon and Barnes and Nobel online.

Cohen and Pinto are working on turning "Mikey" into a series.