Autism and Asperger's Syndrome - Popular works, Disabled & Differently Abled Persons - Biography, Psychological Disorders, Infant & Child Patients - Biography, Family & Child Health, Family & Child Health

Let Me Hear Your Voice

Name: Let Me Hear Your Voice
Author: Catherine Maurice
ISBN: 9780679408635

by Catherine Maurice

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Overview

She was a beautiful doelike child, with an intense, graceful fragility. In her first year, she picked up words, smiled and laughed, and learned to walk. But then Anne-Marie began to turn inward. And when her little girl lost some of the words she had acquired, cried inconsolably, and showed no interest in anyone around her, Catherine Maurice took her to doctors who gave her a devastating diagnosis: autism.

In their desperate struggle to save their daughter, the Maurices plunged into a medical nightmare of false hopes, "miracle cures," and infuriating accusations that Anne-Marie's autism was their fault. Finally, Anne-Marie was saved by an intensive behavioral therapy.

Let Me Hear Your Voice is a mother's illuminating account of how one family triumphed over autism. It is an absolutely unforgettable book, as beautifully written as it is informative.

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Editorials

William Beatty

Maurice tells the moving story of the recovery from autism of both her daughter, Anne-Marie, and her son Michel. After receiving neither help nor encouragement from several physicians, the Maurices--husband Marc giving vital support while Catherine provided the push--discovered psychologist O. Ivar Lovaas' program of behavior modification. (In a foreword, Lovaas maintains that if his approach is started early enough, 50 percent of autistic children improve enough to attend regular schools.) Catherine's detailed account presents the family's subsequent psychological ups and downs. Besides the Maurices, major characters in the story include Bridget Taylor, who came in five afternoons a week to guide Anne-Marie through the behavior modification program, and speech pathologist Robin Rosenthal, who worked three evenings a week. Considerably less helpful was a child psychiatrist who promoted holding therapy and almost derailed the much more demanding behavior modification program. Because of promotion by "McCall's" and "Reader's Digest", the Maurices' story may stir the interest of a large audience.