ISBN: 0071431942
List Price: $14.95
Amazon Price: $10.46
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Avg Cusomer Rating: 5
Reviews:
Summary: Amazing story
Reads like a novel. Very honest. I would recommend this book to everyone I know.
I bought this book because my daughter suspected her child of having Asperger's syndrome. I knew nothing of the disease. This book not only helped me understand it, but it also gave me much insight into my own grandson's world.
I liked the way it was written. Simple and honest. Much better than reading a lengthy, technical book on the disease.
Read it, you'll gasp, laugh and cry.
Summary: A Resonant Voice
Finally, a resonant voice in the mire of books on special needs that isn't overloaded with technical detail. What distinguishes this book from others is that Barbara La Salle lets her anger, regret, and fury fly forth --an honest voice amid the cries by everyone else to "hush up, be strong, compassionate, and a veritable pillar of strength" even though deep inside you are cracking up.
Anyone with a special needs child faces frustration. Unfortunately, most of the books out there demand that you either take the countenance of Oprah Winfrey or Dr. Phil. Everything isn't okay, and Barbara LaSalle, who is both the mother of her son Ben and also a therapist, let's that old stereotype take a pounding. She talks about her regrets, her failures, and her slow acceptance that not everything about her son is her fault. Her son Ben also writes part of the book. His voice is important to show that people with Asperger's struggle, but have a conscience worth hearing and learning from.
Her story is moving, and it is also honest and shocking. I'd recommend this to all parents, spouses of Asperger's patients, as well as Asperger's patients because they have to understand that until you can identify your own anger, you can never move beyond it.
Nicely told, the only regret I have is that a bit more attention to editing and structure from a writing standpoint would have made it move a bit quicker and avoid some of the repetition that befalls it.
Summary: Heartbreaking and Depressing
I have a high-functioning autistic son who is very like Ben in many ways, and I was horrified at this mother's attitude! While I applaud her for her honesty in admitting all her faults, I can't help but feel that Ben's life would have turned out very differently if she had accepted him as he was. This is the story of a great tragedy, the loss of 33 years of this young man's life.
I was a "goody-two-shoes" when I was a child, always trying to please the "grown-ups" and fit their expectations. But as I grew up, I realized that I would have to make my own decisions, ESPECIALLY when it came to my child! Obviously, this mother did not. No matter what my family said, no matter that the doctors accused me of being an "overly protective Mom", I knew my child was this way because of something internal to him, and that his behavior was not his fault!
When I finally found a doctor who recognized his autism (at age 4), I realized that the truism is correct; "a mother knows best." But even if I had not received the diagnosis, I would never have behaved the way this mother did. She betrayed her son because SHE wanted to fit in, to be a "good girl." This story broke my heart for the sake of Ben, and I am still depressed after reading it several days ago.
I believe that most mothers will love and accept their chid, no matter how strange he is. And I believe that is one of the most important things we can do for them! If you want to see what NOT to do, this is the book for you!
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