A Slant of Sun: One Child's CourageFor Beth Kephart's son, the diagnosis was pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified--a broad spectrum of difficulties, including autistic features. As the author and her husband discover, all that label really means is that their son Jeremy is different in a million wonderful ways, and also different in ways that need our help. In intimate, incandescent prose, Kephart shares the painful and inspiring experience of loving a child whose special needs bring tremendous frustration and incalculable rewards. What, in the end, are you fighting for: Normal? Kephart asks. Is normal possible? Can it be defined? . . . And is normal superior to what the child inherently is, to what he aspires to, fights to become, every second of his day? With the help of passionate parental involvement and the kindness of a few open hearts, Jeremy slowly emerges from a world of obsessive play rituals, atypical language constructions, endless pacing, and lonely frustrations. Triumphantly, he begins to engage others, describe his thoughts and passions, build essential friendships. Ultimately this is a story of the shallowness of medical labels compared to a child's courage and a mother's love, of which Kephart writes, Nothing erodes it. It is not sand on a beach. It is the nuclear heart of things--hard as the rock of this earth. |
Contents
preface | 9 |
dancing | 15 |
reaching for my son | 27 |
hat tricks | 36 |
hard knocks | 43 |
where silence starts | 51 |
one sudden quiet knowing | 99 |
working it out | 107 |
afternoon concert minor keys | 136 |
competing wisdoms | 146 |
the farmer in the dell | 174 |
from here to there | 208 |
what falls away | 233 |
palsy | 242 |
last rights | 249 |
waiting for the red baron | 127 |
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Common terms and phrases
answer arms autism begin beneath breath Celts chair child circle classroom color Daddy disorder doctor Dodge Dart door drive echolalia everything eyes face feel fingers fist floor friends hair Halloween hallway hand head hear heart hour Hula Dance husband imagine inside Jeremy says Jeremy's Jolly Jumper kids kindergarten lean listen little boy look Manfred von Richthofen migraine mind Miss Tara Mommy mother neighbor night nods obsessions okay pacing parents Pervasive Developmental Disorder play Play-Doh playground pull Quaker questions Red Baron Robin running Saunders shoes sitter sleep smile son's songs sound stand stare stop stories street sure talk teacher teddy bears tell Jeremy Temple Grandin therapist there's things Timmy toys train trucks turn voice waiting walk watch weeks window woman wonder words