IamA 22-year-old, one-handed author of children's books for kids with disabilities. AMA!

Congratulations man, nice to see your book is selling well.

You say you love the kids differences, but what have you found to be your favourite thing about your difference? Your story is inspirational but I don't want to answer for you!

Thanks for the support! Until a few years ago I was pretty shy about having one hand. But I came to realize that if I stand in a corner and act shy, that's how people will perceive me. On the other hand (pun slightly intended), if I make a conscious effort to be outgoing and act like my difference doesn't affect me, people will see me that way and adapt. Having one hand is now a huge part of my personality; I use it to open conversations, I constantly make one-hand jokes and puns, and I can honestly say I love my differences!

I've always raised my child to understand that people are different but should be treated as equal. Do your books enforce the same principles?

They do! Uniquely Me follows a little boy with one hand as he goes on an adventure to find out why he's different. By the end of the story (and after having made friends with a few talking animals) he realizes that it doesn't matter if he has one hand or two, because his differences make him unique! And kudos to you for raising your child with those values!

In high school, a good friend of mine was also missing his arm, a little below the elbow, due to a birth defect. If you asked him how he lost it though, it would always be a different story. His favorite was by shark bite.

He is an amazing artist and always attributed his skill to the fact that he only had one hand and therefore had greater control. Do you have a skill that you feel has been enhanced due to having one hand?

Wish you success with your book!

I think that's awesome, and I actually do the same thing when meeting people, I have plenty of absurd stories I tell! Strangely enough, I'm currently typing this comment at around 75 words/minute using my left hand and my "nub". And I doubt I'd be that good at typing if I hadn't needed to focus on it so much when I was learning!

As someone who used to do quite a bit of creative writing and even considered writing some children's books is there the possibility of a sustainable income in authoring children's books?

I certainly know of children's authors who make a sizeable amount of income through their books, and supplement it with income from things like speaking engagements regarding their books. I, however, just recently graduated from college and I'm still working on funding my second book through that Kickstarter campaign. So I'm afraid for me at least that goal is fairly distant!

Thank you for the insight. I used to write a lot but I've struggled since I had a brain injury two years ago. I'd still love to try and get a couple put together and published though. What process did you go through to get your first book published?

I started a Kickstarter last May, hoping that I could raise enough money to meet my goal and then self-publish my book most likely through Amazon. But about halfway through the campaign I was contacted by Mascot Books, a local publisher, who wanted to work with me! Through Mascot I chose an illustrator and had the book published. I also use their distribution network to get Uniquely Me into big-name stores like Barnes & Noble and Target. I highly recommend them, and I'd say the first place to start is definitely local publishing houses near you.

Do you play video games? Just curious about your entertainment options

I do, and I'm actually surprisingly good at them! Though that probably comes from having grown up playing them. I play PC and Xbox One games, and I'm currently addicted to Overwatch!

Is the controller custom made? It must be an interesting challenge to play them one handed!

Nope just a regular controller! In certain games I change the control layout because otherwise I can't aim and shoot at the same time, but for the most part it's pretty easy. Actually, if you check out the interview I posted in the description for this AMA, there are a few clips of me playing video games!

Hi there!

First off, I'd like to say what you are doing is amazing. I am currently in school to become an occupational therapist and one of the biggest problems in our world involves how people with disabilities are treated. My question is were you treated as a child differently than how you are treated as an adult?

I know children can either ignore differences, or they can be unintentionally cruel. I have seen it first hand in the school I have worked at.

Thanks for doing this!

Well, as you might expect, children are always inquisitive. Similar to how a child will ask "why" as a response to every answer you give them, there are always some kids who just don't understand why I have one hand. While that bothered me a bit when I was younger, I think of it now as a good opportunity to teach children acceptance. I can't say I've had many adults act strangely around me as a result of my disability. Then again I also have good friends who have told me a few years into knowing me that it took them up to 2 weeks to even notice I had one hand, simply because I don't make a fuss about it!

I recently watched a youtube video about a girl with disability, she was offered keys to the city, her parents argumented that was nice but she actually hasn't done anything to deserve it. The girl argumented about how people try to objectify people with disability, usually with those image of motivationals and how this annoys her. Honestly I just think it's a minor issue of people trying too hard (like the keys to the city) to respect.

What's your view about preconception or people trying too hard to respect people with disability?

I honestly prefer it when people look at me and don't see a person with a disability. I don't like being looked down on for having a disability obviously, nobody would. But I also don't want any "special treatment" because it almost seems to lessen the importance of any actual accomplishments or contributions I make on my own. My hope is that eventually the term "people with disabilities" fades away and we're all just "people".

I'm with you when you talk about equality, but I had in mind more specifically if you feel annoyed when people go way beyond respect, like putting you on a pedestal "you're a source of inspiration" and such things or you take them as it is. Does people trying too hard to show respect annoy you?

If it's really obvious that they're putting me on a pedestal simply because I'm able to live well despite having a disability, then yes it can get annoying. But some people, especially children, truly feel inspired by my writing and the messages I try to teach. I find that kind of respect very humbling.

Well, a few of the disabled people I know, would hate to be called 'brave'. They're just going through life the best they can, nothing brave really. What made you choose ''brave''? If someone came up to you and said 'ohh you're so brave'....wouldn't you hate it? What would you feel / think?

In the context of my book "Uniquely Brave", the word "brave" doesn't really pertain to being brave simply because you're living with a disability. Without giving away too many spoilers, the main character is shunned by his peers for not being the "strongest", or "fastest", or "smartest" of the group. Each of the other kids has one of those identifiers. But each of those other children fail in the conflict situation of the book, where the main character triumphs. At the end of the story he realizes that he doesn't need to be the strongest, fastest, or smartest because he's the bravest and faced his fears where the others could not.

Do you wear or have you ever worm a hand prosthesis? One of my friends was also born without a hand; he uses a prosthesis at work (he's a cook) but not at home.

Do you have any good one-handed or handsfree jokes?

I've never worn one, but I've tested a few recently and I'm actually looking at getting a myoelectric prosthesis sometime in the near future! There are a few small things I use for specific activities, like when I lift weights I strap a lifting hook around my arm and use it to curl dumbbells, etc.

Most of my one-hand jokes are very spontaneous and usually puns, like instead of saying "I don't know" I'll say "I'm stumped". It definitely keeps conversations fun!

What's your favourite Tv show?

Random question, but I'll entertain it. Game of Thrones. A few seasons ago a bunch of my friends decided to call me Jaime for a while, which I was perfectly fine with.

What is your favourite type of cheese?

Cheddar

Were you born without your hand? What made you write the book? Im 21 and often think about writing a book after college, i have some ideas i would like to use but not sure how and where to start, any tips?

I was born without my right hand. I had met a few other people with limb differences, and realized that there are very few resources for kids with disabilities and their parents when it comes to stories they can relate to! I've always loved writing and decided the best audience for me to appeal to was children. The biggest thing is always to take the leap and start writing. Even if you re-write the same sentence 50 times until it sounds good to you, the act of putting your thoughts on paper inspires creativity and can help you decide where you want the story to go. Even if you don't have any idea what you want the finished product to look like, simply beginning to write can get you quite far! After all, I had no idea what I was doing when I began writing Uniquely Me!

Hi there ! Congrats on your amazing achievement !

Just a question, do you drive a car ? Or ride a bike ? Or any type of transportation ? Thanks !

I do! I drive a car, and occasionally when I have time I ride my bike. My right arm ends at the wrist so I'm still able to rest it on the handlebar to steer, and when I'm driving a car I can actually put it in one of the gaps in the steering wheel and turn the wheel with it! The only thing I can't do (yet) is drive a manual car.

Have you ever travelled abroad?

The farthest I've gone outside of the US was a cruise to the Bahamas, though I love to travel and I have several countries on my list for future adventures!

What country is at the top of that list? And who would you travel with?

Italy is definitely at the top of the list, but I'm not sure who I'd travel with! I think it might be fun to just go by myself and try to meet new people in the places I visit instead of relying on conversation with someone I already know!