Indianapolis boy's book about autism turning into a movie

An Indianapolis boy's way of raising awareness about autism has now become a movie.

By: Konah Williams

INDIANAPOLIS — What started as a way for an Indianapolis boy to raise awareness for his brother has grown into a film.

Tyrell Smith's twin brother, Tyrese, was diagnosed with autism a few years ago. Tyrell had questions but also wanted to show support for his brother.

"He walked around with a notebook for a couple of months, and he would write and he would stop ... eventually he just came and said 'I'm done,'" mom Latasha Walker said.

Tyrell, at age 7, became the author of "Yes We are Twins, but We are Different."

"I reached out to someone that's really big in the literacy world in Indianapolis ... and she looked at it and she said he had something," Walker said.

Delores Thornton, or "Grandma's Cookie" as the boys lovingly call her, took on the project and turned Tyrell's big idea into a reality.

"I just knew that it would be a welcome thing for the community, especially the African American community, because a lot of times our symptoms and our diagnosis aren't, as you know, aren't readily explained like other populations," Thornton said. "So to bring this to the public to aid parents and others that deal with autism, it blew me away. It blew me away."

Now, the book is being turned into a movie that Tyrell and Tyrese star in as themselves.