cover image A Child's Journey Out of Autism: One Family's Story of Living in Hope and Finding a Cure

A Child's Journey Out of Autism: One Family's Story of Living in Hope and Finding a Cure

Leeann Whiffen, . . Sourcebooks, $14.99 (318pp) ISBN 978-1-4022-1838-5

The story of Clay Whiffen started out no differently than that of countless others diagnosed with autism: his parents, author Leeann and her husband, Sean, felt they could only watch as their happy baby morphed into a child they did not recognize. At first, the parents, in their 20s, denied their son could be autistic. (In the foreword, Dr. Bryan Jepson writes that in the mid-1980s, autism was a rare condition—1 in 5,000 children; by the mid-1990s, it had become the most common developmental disability with 1 in 150 children diagnosed.) But soon, Leeann writes, “I feel compelled to do whatever it takes to help Clay.... I stay up all hours of the night investigating everything related to autism.” As Sean worked hard to cover the cost of Clay's treatment, Leeann became a master networker. The Whiffens decided on an applied behavior analysis program, and “I press forward in sheer faith that what we do will help him.” Although the book's dialogue is often stilted, Whiffen has written an inspirational and educational story. (Mar.)