Autistic girl, 12, illustrates mother's book about condition with beautiful drawings of fairies and goblins.

An autistic schoolgirl has teamed up with her mother to create a fairy story to teach children about her condition.

Rosie King, 12, has drawn pixies, fairies and goblins for her mother Sharon’s book The Daily Journal of Arabella Crumblestone.

Mrs King, 40, wrote the story for children because most books about autism tend to be too factual for youngsters.

Rosie came up with the illustrations when her mother was working on the book and Mrs King was so impressed that she decided to use them.

The book tells of a fairy called Arabella who lands on Earth and has to find her way home. She comes across two children, one who has autism, and they help her.

The characters are based on Mrs King’s three children, who all have different physical or emotional problems.

Two years ago Rosie diagnosed herself with Asperger’s syndrome when she recognised her symptoms in a book about disabilities, which she was reading to understand her younger brother’s condition.

She is the inspiration for the story’s character Faith, one of the children who befriends the fairy.

While Rosie has been diagnosed with a mild form of Asperger’s – an autistic type disorder characterised by difficulties with social interaction – her brother Lenny, eight, has classic autism. His book character George is also autistic.