specific groups

Thank God for Dr. Florance. I read an earlier review that complained because this book didn't offer a "how-to" primer to duplicate her results...that's not the point! Her story is an inspiration to every parent who has been in the uneasy position of questioning the advice/recommendations/diagnoses of the "experts". Dr. Florance is the silver lining for our gifted visual children.

Everyone should read this book. Dr. Florance is the expert in this field, and the birth of Whitney brought together her incredible background and her most difficult patient. Her perserverance and patience are awe-inspiring.

Read this book and learn about how a truly brilliant mind solves the unsolvable. It's a fascinating journey.

Read this book to learn more about parenting. She makes the observation that once Whitney's abilities increased, his autistic symptoms decreased. They were really symptoms of frustration. When I realized that my son's seemingly unreasonable reactions were normal for a child under a tremendous amount of stress, I was better able to help him.

Read this book and think about the possibilities. How many kids that seem unteachable are really just being taught in the wrong way? How many talented minds are we wasting?

After you read the book, follow her career. 20 years ago she changed the way we treated stuttering. Now she's pioneering a new field. My son is one of her patients and she really can re-engineer the brain.

It is good to read this story of "recovery" from autistic-like symptoms. They give us parents inspiration and hope. I especially liked that we see the son all the way through high school when most books of this type stop at age 5. However, it was frustrating to see a mother refuse to seek outside help for her son. Dr. Florance takes on all the weight of diagnosis and treatment herself (with the assistance of her other children). Other doctors do not seem to be consulted, and there is no mention in the book of successful methods developed such as PECS, and ABA. Part of the problem may be that the crux of the story takes place 15 or more years ago, and alot of research has been done since then. Catherine Maurice's "Let Me Hear Your Voice", published in 1992 is still the book to read if you have a child that demonstrates autistic symptoms.

I just returned from the annual autism conference. I learned more about the brain and visual learning in one day there, then I learned from this entire book..I do not have a ph.d, and yet I have already implemented, read and heard every technique that was being touted in this book. Thier are visual learning workshops and techniques being employed all over the country. Not everyone with a success story should feel compelled to produce a book, unless they have something uniquely different to say. Parents cannot take one more dissapointing example of how someone succeeded where they had failed, even when they had worked just as tediously and employed the exact same teaching methods. The research indicates that even when two children with the same diagnosis are afforded the same interventions, some will succeed more then others.