Get to know us!
This website is dedicated to children with special needs and features books and stories of children with special needs. It also showcases their families and the ups, downs, and sideways of being, in a word, unique.
About the Author:
Rebecca Rusk is the author of the Yummie Wiggleham series and bases her character on her grandson William, born with Soto’s Syndrome, an NSD1 gene mutation. Rebecca lives in Cumming, Georgia with her husband where she works as a Court Administrator for the local Juvenile Court. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and the Association of Writers and Writing Programs. She is currently working on her first novel, Sunset in a Tuscan Town. She is currently a senior at Valdosta State University majoring in Office Administration and Technology and is an amateur photographer and artist. Rebecca’s ambition behind the Yummie Wiggleham stories is to bring awareness to genealogical birth defects that result in spectrum disorders in children like Soto’s and Weaver’s Syndromes, and to educate parents and children alike how important social inclusion, understanding, and acceptance are for these children.
Yummie Wiggleham (a.k.a. William)
William is the third grandson of the author and the inspiration behind the Yummie Wiggleham series. Will was born in 2007 with a mutated NSD1 gene disorder resulting in Sotos Syndrome. From rolling over as an infant to social relationships, Will has struggled. Now at the age of seven Will still is mostly non-verbal using a language board and iPad for communication. But he doesn't give up. He finds new and inventive ways to communicate with family and friends and never, ever gives up. The family rejoices at each slight improvement and prays for social acceptance and understanding.
| Common Features of Sotos' Syndrome | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
Birth wight and length > 90th centile | Hypotonia |
| May have respiratory & feeding problem | High arched palate | |
| Head circumference > 95th centile | Prognathia | |
| Craniofacial features with frontal bossing | Macrocephaly | |
| Rapid incrase in height | Palpebral fissures | |
| Height increases are parallel to the normal growth curve but above the 95th centile | Non-progressive incoordination, affecting gross movements more than fine control. Both improve with age | |
| William | Prognathia | Developmental delay, speech problems |
| Age 7 | ||
