From Amazon.com
The hardest part of being a parent is the certain knowledge that there are some things you can't control. When Beth Kephart's son Jeremy was labeled with the unsettlingly vague diagnosis of pervasive developmental disorder (a behavioral disorder related to autism) in the fall of 1991, there were no definitive medical answers, no guidebooks to Jeremy's inner world, no maps to help Jeremy's mom and dad lead their boy back into the land of relatively uncomplicated childhood. Jeremy was a beautiful child who screamed whenever strangers came near him and spent long hours every day obsessively rearranging his toy cars into indecipherable patterns. He was an early talker, but by the time of his diagnosis Jeremy's speech had degenerated into mindless parroting--a condition known as echolalia. Jeremy's triumph over his disability and his journey to reintegration is the primary story of this beautifully written book, Kephart's first.
The other story, the more universal story, is the haunting account of the symbiosis between mother and child, which grows particularly intense when a child feels pain from which his mother cannot shield him. Kephart's fears that her own maternal failings are somehow implicated in Jeremy's problem stand out as the emotional core of this memoir. Her faith in her son, perseverance, and eventual acceptance of herself play as important a role in his healing process as any course of therapy--and her unflinching descriptions of her own healing are what make A Slant of Sun such a stunning debut. --Patrizia DiLucchio
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Publishers Weekly
At two and a half years old, Kephart's son, Jeremy, was diagnosed as suffering from pervasive developmental disorder, a condition that has some of the elements of autism. The child's speech was "atypical," he was terrified of contact with everyone but his parents and grandparents, and his life became characterized by certain behaviors that became obsessions. Because his situation was so anomalous, even professionals used to dealing with so-called exceptional children were at a loss as to how to cope with Jeremy at times. But the Pennsylvania-based author and her husband, Bill, after blaming themselves for the child's difficulties and encountering problems with experts, determined to deal with their son on his own terms and to modify his behavior without wrenching him away from his few interests, ranging from trains and cars to planes and trucks, and by letting him set his own pace when encountering other children and adults. They also chose his schools wisely, with the result that Jeremy now functions well in society at age nine. Freelancer Kephart conveys her frantic reaction to the original diagnosis, her furious desire to change conditions for Jeremy at once and her ultimate realization that a tangible, positive outcome was possible, given great patience. Kephart tells an affecting story of parental dedication.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
