by KateRankin (Author)
Gabriel is a teenager who is severely autistic: he is completely unsocialized, is incontinent and is unable to speak. In this book his mother, with great honesty, describes what it is like to bring up an autistic child who requires constant care and exhibits challenging behaviour.
Written partly in diary form, Growing Up Severely Autistic covers the minutiae of daily life with vivid immediacy, from preventing Gabriel eating the goldfish, to helping him through his grief on the death of his father. Gabriel's life and relationships with his family are traced from early childhood, through his school days to his entry into residential care at the age of 17. With affection and humour, Kate Rankin has written a personal and intimate study of someone who is very different from those around him, and who cannot himself articulate his experiences.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 208
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Published: 01 May 2000
ISBN 10: 1853028916
ISBN 13: 9781853028915
MIND Book of the Year 2001
I was intensely moved by Kate Rankin's account of life with her son Gabriel, whose 'toys' include fluorescent tape, rubber gloves, keyrings and laces. At 15, he is incontinent, has violent mood swings, has no speech, bangs his head, shows no spontaneous affection and demands constant attention. It is a story of human endurance, loyalty, frustration and acceptance. It raises some of the most poignant questions about quality of life with (and around) autism, and how individuals with an 'altered perspective' think or feel.
-- Times Educational SupplementFirst-hand accounts by disabled people themselves or by their families or carers are invaluable sources of information for social workers. They illustrate the practical problems of everyday life and the coping strategies used, the efficiency and effectiveness of support services, and the force of oppression experienced... the book is moving, disturbing, informative and though-provoking.
As long as this is not our only reading on autism. I would thoroughly recommend this book.
-- Journal of Social Work