19 Wing firefighter tackles autism in first published book

MCpl Kwaku Amoateng and his son Jordan.

Camille Douglas
Totem Times Newspaper
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MCpl Kwaku Amoateng is a firefighter at 19 Wing Comox who spends his spare time drawing. In fact, he is a graphic artist who recently published a book: The Magic Umbrella: Bratasaurus Vs Tyrannosaurus.

“I wrote and illustrated a book about me and my son Jordan – the fun times and the challenges we face,” says MCpl Amoateng. “I had always dreamed about writing a children’s book, but when the reality of me being separated from my son became imminent (due to a posting), I specifically chose to write a book series about us.”

Jordan was diagnosed with autism at the age of three while MCpl Amoateng was working at 12 Wing Shearwater. Now, at nine years old, Jordan is a happy child attending school and making significant progress thanks to the support he received at the Shearwater MFRC.

Through the MFRC, MCpl Amoateng and Jordan were introduced to an Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention (EIBI) team that focuses on developing functional social communication skills for children with special needs.

“He’s come a long way and he’s shown a lot of improvements. The MFRC and the EIBI team really helped kickstart that for him, which was crucial for us,” MCpl Amoateng said.

A posting to 19 Wing Comox resulted in a separation for MCpl Amoateng’s family as Jordan’s support system is in Nova Scotia.

“Writing this book was a coping mechanism. I feel his physical presence when I illustrate him and remember the adventures we had.”

The Magic Umbrella is the story of Kwadan and Jorku; it invites readers to join them under their beautiful magical umbrella and soar to exciting places as they see different things while learning to understand and communicate with each other. Kwadan and his son Jorku are very different in how they speak, which is sometimes frustrating. The pair learn to not be dinosaurs to each other.

MCpl Amoateng plans to create three additional series of the book. To purchase a copy of his first book, visit books.friesenpress.com.

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