Howard Buten

Buten was the author of five novels, the first of which, entitled When I Was Five I Killed Myself, was published in 1981 and turned into a film under its French title Quand j'avais cinq ans je m'ai tué in 1994.

[1] He got his start in acting at a very young age, re-enacting scenes from his favorite stories, along with his childhood friends and neighbors.

Buten's first and best known novel, When I Was Five I Killed Myself, is largely unknown in his home country, but has sold more than a million copies in France.

Howard Buten played a significant role in the Koschise Project, a french study center dedicated to the communication of autistic children.

Founded in collaboration with Romain Philippe Pomedio, Koschise focuses on developing imitation techniques based on mirror neurons to promote empathy in children with autism[2][3] Buten died on January 3, 2025, at the age of 74.