Shash's BookShelf Mondays: A Child's Journey Out Of Autism

I was approached by a very nice person I know and asked to review a book they had, and I happily agreed. As an avid reader, I'm always up for reading anything that people want to send me, or even what my local library or Amazon may have.

(Amazon.com? I love you. Let's go make out.)

However, when I received the book, I have to say I was not happy. The title alone made me cringe. I read the back cover. Then I read the forward. Then I set it down and walked away. I quickly surmised that I was going to have to try to read this with an open mind and report back what I thought. Then I read the book.

I knew it was not going to be easy.

The title of this book is called A Child's Journey out of Autism and it is written by Leeann Whiffen. This book is the story of her son, Clay, who after many visits to doctors and specialists was diagnosed to be on the Autistic Spectrum. The book chronicles their journey through treatments and therapies to help him break out of the shell that his parents feel that vaccines given to him at a very young age created.

It is a well written book, and I definitely relate to and sympathize with Leeann and the rest of Clay's family. Leeann gives you a front row seat to what it is like to be part of a family struggling to understand what is going on and the feelings of hopelessness parents can have when no one understands what to say, what to do or how to help. It can be difficult living with and parenting a child on the Autistic Spectrum; and yet, there is joy and so much to learn from them, it is the equivalent of receiving a rare and priceless gift. But a lot of the time it definitely doesn't feel that way. Leeann explains that beautifully.

However, that being said, there is some things about this book that I do not like*, the first being the part where Leeann feels that she has "cured" her child of Autism.

Yes, I did use air quotes. Yep, I sure did.

Autism is not a disease like a common cold, or pneumonia. It is a part of you, like your heart or your limbs, and it DOES NOT go away. It is manageable, and treatments can and do help. Those children who are higher functioning have a better chance to lead lives similar to their neurotypical peers, but the reality is that these kids that will become adults will always have a few more humps to get over, or move to a beat of a different drummer. For the rest of their lives.

I know this because I live this. My teenaged son is High-Functioning Autistic. So I definitely have some experience in this arena. You could say I walk the walk and talk the talk. I'm "living the life", as it were. I'm in the trenches. 

Leeann does discuss in great detail the methods used to help her son Clay break out of his shell. Many of those intervention methods include; ABA, Floor Time, Gluten Free/Casein Free Diet, etc. She explains beautifully her pain, her struggles, and what couples go through when they begin that long journey into the Autistic world. Her struggles with her doctors to even see that there was something wrong, and the bureaucratic red tape one has to go through with insurance and schools; as well as her tenacity to put a personalized program together for her son make this a must read.

And yet, as much as I want to, I can not recommend this book to you.

The reason I cannot recommend this book is because she has used the word cure in regards to Autism, and I disagree with her so strongly about this. I can not help it. I feel that saying someone has been cured of Autism is incredibly irresponsible, and I can not and will not be a party to that. I'm sorry.

No matter how much I can relate to her struggles. No matter how much I agree with many of her techniques; no matter how much I want to applaud her for never giving up, I can not, in good faith, recommend this book. Unless you have a very open mind. Unless you are not looking to cure your child of Autism. Unless you are realistic and understand that this is a lifelong issue.

Therapies for children on the Autistic Spectrum are not "one size fits all" and books and titles like this continue to perpetuate that myth. I'm thrilled that Leeann found the right "formula" that has worked well for her son, but there's a very strong chance that formula will not work for many children who are also on the Spectrum. To essentially say "Do what I did and it will cure your child of Autism" is the equivalent of selling snake oil at a country fair. You do your audience a huge disservice. I'm very interested in having hope; just not false hope.

Had she just taken out the word cure and not made it a Child's Journey out of Autism; but instead made it a Family's Journey THROUGH Autism, this review might would be very different.

Autism is a life-long journey. It is most definitely a journey filled with hope. It is a journey filled with strategies and interventions but as of yet there is no cure. There needs to be acceptance and there needs to be stories told about the struggles, the highs, the lows, and everything in-between. We ALL need to know that others are out there sharing in the same struggle. We ALL need to see how others have done and what people have tried. We need to keep those lines of communication open for discussion and further learning. We ALL need to have hope. However, we don't need to be told that there is a cure when many of us who live with an Autistic child or adult know better.

I hope that book is written someday. I just may have to be the one to write it.



* The second thing has to do with Autism and Vaccines, another area that I feel is not "One Size Fits All" in the Autism community. However, Leeann feels that her son was affected by vaccines given to her son, and I will agree that we do need to green our vaccines. However, that is all I will agree to. The rest is up for discussion at another time.