In 2002 our precious daughter was diagnosed with autism disorder. She was not quite two yet. At the time of her diagnosis, our doctor gave us a reading list of of recommended books. I dove into that reading list hoping to find out about autism, to find out what to do about it, and to find some camaraderie. What I found was, in general, a disappointment.
There was plenty written describing what autism is. I really only needed so much of that. I was living with autism--once I had verified what the doctors said--that yes, she did have autism disorder, then reading about autism just became frustrating.
I wanted to know what to do about it. I wanted someone to spell it out and hand me a checklist. Most books did not do that. There were so many books and so many different therapy techniques. I felt like the books could fit into one of two categories: Either they claimed to know how to cure my daughter's autism (which in my case soon became obvious was not going to just happen,) or they were personal accounts that were terribly depressing.
What I wanted, what I needed was something else. I wanted something in the middle. I wanted the truth. I wasn't going to be able to cure my daughter of her autism. If I could cure her, then my pediatrician would be able to tell me how to do that. But I was sure that I could help her improve. I had already seen that. There were things I could do that would help her. I wanted to know everything I could do that would help--even the tiniest bit. And I wanted to know that life goes on. Life can be happy. Families can live with autism and have normal, happy, lovely lives.
My husband and I stumbled along, piecing together tidbits of wisdom from hundreds of different places. We learned as we succeeded and failed with our darling daughter. We grew and cried, we laughed and learned to love more deeply than before.
We discovered hundreds of things that help.
We discovered greater happiness in parenting.
We discovered that our daughter's autism is a gift from a God who love us, and I am grateful every day for it.
So, I wrote down some of what I have learned, hoping that somewhere there is another mother who wants a book about autism that is both true and hopeful.
And along the way I discovered that my book really isn't just about autism, it is about life.
