Local authors celebrate start of radio show

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - Two local authors have embarked on a new adventure that is taking them to the airwaves.

Brenda Major and Mia Dawson are co-authors of the book series The Adventures of Neo, which is based on her son Nehemiah who is diagnosed on the autism spectrum. Dawson shared with WAND News, she was tired of talking and hearing about therapy. She and Major got together to create adventures that entertain and share Christian values.

"A lot of people love that it's fun, which is what I wanted," shared Dawson."They also liked the questions at the end and they just said they felt good after reading it."

The duo created three books based on Mia's son. However, after the pandemic, the co-authors shared that they were stuck. They knew they could write another book, however, they felt there was more they could do.

Major shared that someone from IHeart Radio had reached out to her about hosting a talk radio segment on Autism.

"When I told them, you know, just the staggering fact that 1 in 44 kids is somewhere on the autism spectrum, it does impact everybody."

While both Dawson and Major would share statistics like that, they also wanted to focus on tips and advice. Dawson shared that in her son's early stages of his diagnosis, sometimes she felt alone. She wanted this platform to be a safe space for families to answer questions and share advice.

"Once we started doing a couple of shows I said, 'Oh, there's an audience out here who needs to hear this.'"

The show is found on IHeart Radio under PowerMeUp 24/7 Talk Radio. Major said the name of their show is called Superpower Radio.

"Everybody's got a superpower, these kids have a superpower, the caregivers of these kids," Major said. "We discover our superpower by being loving, kind, and supportive to them."