When Henry and James Go Fishing: Finding Hope, Patience, and the Beauty of Difference

By Francine Hatley

Henry and James Go Fishing is about a 7-year-old boy who is on the autism spectrum. Children and adults with autism can have difficulty making eye contact during conversations, have difficulty with facial cues during conversations, do not like change, are often very smart and talented in one particular area, which becomes their expertise, and lag behind in maturity or behind peers of their own age in terms of social and age-appropriate behaviors. The reason I am explaining this is to give you context on Henry. Henry is the boy, and James is his stuffed animal, who happens to be an elephant. I modeled Henry after my oldest son, John, who is on the autism spectrum and has a very highly active and creative imagination. James was modeled after my son’s favorite stuffed animal, which he had when he was very little and that went with him everywhere.

James and William (Henry’s older brother) are modeled after my other two sons. When my younger two sons each reached a certain age, they surpassed their oldest brother in social and age-appropriate behaviors.

They then took the lead in a lot of their interactions with John. While I would leave John in charge if I had to work a few hours during the day when they were on summer break, it was understood that the younger two made sure no one got hurt and that John felt included in whatever activity they did until I got home. Being a mom of a son who is on the autism spectrum had its own set of challenges, and then you add in two relatively normal boys who create the normal kid mischief, and life in our house was anything but boring.

I was and am most proud of the fact that no one in our family treats John any differently. Yes, he is different, but we all are different, and that’s what makes life interesting. My younger sons would go on the “adventures” that my oldest would concoct for them to play out in the backyard, and even when things didn’t go as planned, when John would have difficulty, my younger two were patient and didn’t get embarrassed by him. It was just John. They are still this patient with him. John has caught up in terms of age-appropriate behavior and still works on his social skills but is doing so well.

There were a lot of things that we didn’t think he would be able to do; at least that’s what psychologists told us to expect. We were told he might never hold a job, live on his own, or function in society.

My son works a full-time job in retail, drives a car, and interacts with not only his fellow employees but also the general public, and he does an amazing job.

He lives at home but is self-sufficient, for the most part. I am proud of the young man my son has turned out to be, and I wouldn’t change a thing about him.

These characters I have created helped me to navigate my new reality after my son’s diagnosis. What I didn’t realize at the time, but do now, is that these characters can help others to navigate the world of autism, even if it’s just a small part of that world. This is the first of what I hope will be a series of adventures for Henry and James. In this book, Henry and James set out on a great adventure in their own backyard, or do they? Join Henry and James to see what happens as they go fishing!