Maghaberry boy, 9, writes and publishes his first book about an autistic superhero

A nine-year-old boy from Maghaberry in Co Antrim has written and published a book about a superhero with autism.

Noah Adams, who is autistic, was inspired to write his first novel after seeing a lack of diversity in superhero comics.

"Mr Fantastic is the only superhero I know with autism, so I wanted to make a new one with autism, a newer kind of generation because Mr Fantastic is kind of fading away, so from now on my book is going to be the main superhero of autism," said Noah.

Noah's grandfather, David, helped write the book and get it published online.

While he may have helped get the words down on paper, all the ideas, including the plot and characters, were from Noah's imagination.

"He asked me, he said 'Dada can I write a book?' I said yes and he asked could you help me, so that's how it began," David told UTV.

"To see a book with Noah's name on it and genuinely thought up and delivered by Noah is wonderful."

Noah's book already has a fanbase in school and online.

His head teacher, Frances Hughes, says he's been an inspiration to other children and has taught them about autism.

"He ensures that they have a greater understanding, so he enriches their lives on a daily basis. To think that he has written this book is just incredible. How amazing is it to have a superhero in your school" said Mrs Hughes.

Noah's Mum, Sarah, has encouraged her son from the sidelines when he sometimes feels overwhelmed by his condition.

"Don't get me wrong, there's days were he tells me he doesn't like having autism but we are just like, Noah you can't change who you are, you just have to get stronger and live with your life and just go for it."

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