by Sarah Clement ...
The eleven stories written by parents of children and teenagers with Aspergers that form the backbone of this book are powerfully affecting. Through these narratives we see the lives of the individuals involved unfold over time and learn about the multiple day-in-day-out challenges faced by the families. The difficulties fluctuate with the quality, quantity and appropriateness of the support - educational, medical and social - provided by professionals and institutions to these children, young people and parents. The accounts clearly highlight the immense benefits of good support, and the tragedies and suffering that occurs when - as is often the case - this is lacking. We also see the challenges often intensify as adolescence and all that this brings is reached. What is very evident in these accounts is the deep love the parents feel for their sons and daughters, and their passionate commitment to their children as they seek to create the best environments for them in a world that is often perplexed by, makes false assumptions about, and is uncaring towards, these atypical young people.
As a parent of a teenager with Aspergers, Anna Van Der Post's primary aim in writing the book was to help parents in similar situations to her own to feel that they are not alone and to find strength and comfort through shared experience. The book also has a political purpose in highlighting the serious shortcomings in services used by children and young people with Aspergers. Another common thread in the stories is how hurt the parents feel by the lack of understanding often shown by their own family and friends.
This book will help friends and families to gain a deeper insight into parents' struggles and perspectives and a greater comprehension of Aspergers. The contributors describe their lives as being like living in 'another country' or 'on another planet' and our horizons are broadened by learning about their worlds. The book does not make for comfortable reading - the accounts have a searing honesty that makes the reader flinch at times - but we feel that we come to know these families a little having followed their journeys from birth to the teenage years. The accounts end with the young people approaching adulthood and the reader is left wanting to know more - what will happen to these parents and young people in the years to come? Like a dramatic, powerful and moving novel, interrupted and unfinished, the reader is left eagerly anticipating a sequel.
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