he's not autistic, but...

by tenna merchent, M.H.

this book caught my eye in the new-release non-fiction section at the local library on one of my rare visits to an actual library.

i have no worries that either of my children are autistic.  but it was the "but..." part of the title that got my attention.  the book was somewhat interesting, i had trouble putting it down to be honest.  i found her style of writing to be easy to read and more like she was standing in front of me, talking to me.  what happened to her son and to her must have been difficult to go through as both a mother and a person, but none-the-less they made it through.  i found to have in common with her a sense of generic doctors where you are in-and-out and you don't really get anything specialized, where nothing alternative (or homeopathic) is considered, and antibiotics and immunizations and growth charts are pushed as the norm. 

i did finish the book with a sense of her personal growth (she seemed very weak as a person in the beginning) and towards the end she did become more of a fighter and a believer. i am not sure if i could "trust" some of the medicine-type practices she did during the course of her and her son's treatment, but i'm glad it worked for her. i believe with her hard work and perseverance, and constant prayer, God healed them.  i believe she wrote a book, a true book, about a modern day miracle.   

i just wanted to put my favorite quote from the book, which i think summarizes the book pretty well - both her struggles and her recovery in here.

"...i have observed this phenomenon in many practitioners.  they believe theirs is the only approach that will work.  this man believes everything is caused by our emotions.  he was like the guy who only has a hammer, so he thinks everything is a nail.  it has been my experience there are many ways to approach the body that are beneficial.."