Product Description

After months (and eventually years) of circling around a diagnosis for our late-talking but sociable little boy who played in odd ways, who loved his family, but was behind on every developmental milestone, who could sing along with operas better than he could answer a question, we finally understood: this is what autism looks like.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1022744 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-16
• Released on: 2006-06-16
• Binding: Digital
• 24 pages

About the Author
Cammie McGovern was awarded a creative writing fellowship at Stanford University, and has received numerous prizes for her short fiction. Her stories have appeared in many magazines including Glamour, Ladies Home Journal, Redbook and Seventeen , and she is the author of another novel, The Art of Seeing . She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts with her husband and three children, the eldest of whom is autistic. She is one of the founders of Whole Children, a resource center that runs after-school classes and programs for children with special needs.

Customer Reviews

Insightful portrait of autism
This is very thoughtful, moving short piece about the birth and preschool years of the author's autistic son. Although every autistic child is unique, many parents of such children will find the symptoms and behaviors the author describes quite familiar and will have empathize with the difficulties both she and her doctors had in dealing with them. Be sure to buy and read "Eye Contact" as well!

If He Ain't Broke, Don't Fix Him
Readers are treated to Ethan McGovern in the August, 2006 issue of "Readers' Digest." Ethan's behavior fit the typical Kanner's Autism description. Largely nonverbal for the first few years of his life, Ethan derived pleasure in "self-stimming" behaviors. As his language improved along with the recession of some of the more autistic behaviors, he provided good explanations for his behavior. For example, he sifted sand and other small items through his fingers because that "calmed" him. This is not too different from people who love to cook explaining that they "love" the textures of certain foods they handle.

An early doctor/diagnostician with the bedside manner of Attila the Hun used "Rain Man" to describe Ethan. Despite the doctor's oafish, (author's word - very apt), seemingly callous response to the mother and child, he crossed yet another line by applying that derogatory slur. In fact, the term "Rain Man" is extremely offensive in autism circles and is best avoided at all costs. I have come to just hate the 1988 movie because the savant stereotype has been applied to people with autism. Ironically, savantism affects less than 10% of the autism population!

In fact, the title of the article is about not trying to fix a child with autism. The message of acceptance rings throughout this work and is one I cannot recommend highly enough.

As a Beatles' fan, I had to smile when McGovern said in her article that many families that have a member with autism accomodate that person's special interest whether it be all the presidents or all 4 Beatles. My vote - all 4 Beatles, yeah, yeah, yeah!