Richmond’s Kaye Liao Banez is a psychologist, vocational educator, sales and marketing specialist, mental health advocate and mother of two small children, one of whom has autism.
You would think she has enough to keep her busy. But Banez also aims to help others.
So when her five-year-old son Lazarus reached a significant milestone in January of this year, she wanted to do something special.
She wrote a book.
See Yah in the Morning! A Bedtime Story is meant to be both celebratory and supportive – acknowledging Lazarus’ first successful verbal interaction as well as providing a tool for parents to help their young children develop communication skills.
Written with the two- to six-year-old age group in mind, See Yah in the Morning! starts out with a playful title.
“The ‘Yah’ is something that gets them talking,” Banez told the News. “It’s inherently funny, a positive word” that can serve as a launching point for learning, reading and speaking skills.
The storyline is centred around the routines families go through to get kids ready for bedtime.
“Not always a fun time,” Banez acknowledges. (She’s also a mom to Estella, who is three).
After encouraging her son — who was diagnosed with autism when he was two — for years to develop his vocal abilities with story times in the evening, Banez was finally rewarded this past winter, when she bid him her customary goodnight: “See you in the morning.”
For the first time, Lazarus responded in kind: “See ya in the morning.”
Banez was thrilled, and the impetus for her book was born.
“The things we take for granted as parents… your children pointing at objects, waving goodbye or hello… it took my son years,” she said.
“Being a mother of a child diagnosed with autism, I feel compelled to be a part of promoting the awareness for autism and through this book.”
She also wants to support charities that help kids with special needs and their families and is raising money at her book launch being held later this month at the Richmond Olympic Oval.
If people purchase the book at the event (the hardcover is $12.75), they will be given one loonie and a toonie. The $1 coin is to be donated to Canucks Autism Network (CAN), and the $2 can be given to any of the other organizations featured at the event, including such as Richmond Cares Richmond Gives, Pacific Autism Family Network and the B.C. and Alberta Guide Dogs.
“This will hopefully encourage people to be more generous and donate more,” Banez said, adding that for every book sold in perpetuity, $1 will go to CAN.
The book is a family affair, with Banez’s cousin Jenkin Liao providing the illustrations, and her grandparents coming to Richmond for the launch.
The event takes place Saturday, Aug. 26 at the Richmond Olympic Oval legacy lounge from 2 to 5 p.m.
Tickets are free, and the first 150 attendees get an admission to the ROX – Canada’s only Olympic Museum (a $20 value). There will be food, entertainment, raffles and prizes to be won, including a signed Vancouver Canucks hockey stick.
For more information about Banez and her book, visit online at BammStellaCreations.wordpress.com.
