Breaking Autism's Barriers: A Father's Story [Paperback]

Bill Davis (Author), Wendy Goldband Schunick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 2001

Bill Davis is the father of Chris, who has autism. Breaking Autism's Barriers: A Father's Story chronicles Bill's fight to overcome the physical, emotional, public, educational, and therapeutic obstacles to his son's disorder. Few books about autism have been written from a father's perspective. None so effectively walks the reader through each moment of a family's experience. It is an honest, direct account from a father's point of view of bringing up a child with autism, and the pressures and pleasures this brings to him, his wife Jae and his daughter Jessica. Now a leading autism advocate, Bill Davis gives advice and support to families trapped in a frustrating, unyielding system. Every facet of daily life with autism - including potty-training, aggression, marriage, family support, and finances - is discussed, with humor and realism. Breaking Autism's Barriers gives useful information to help parents jump the hurdles necessary to get a diagnosis, effective education, skilled therapists, and funding. Professionals will gain great insight on how to work better with families struggling with autism. And families will take comfort in knowing they are not alone, and be inspired by an ordinary man like Bill who is overcoming autism's obstacles.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Bill Davis says in his introduction that he wrote this book in the hope 'he can open up somebody's eyes and give them some understanding of autism.' Well, he has done that, and I have learnt more about what it must be like to bring up a child with autism than I ever imagined I would... This book takes us through the struggles which a family has from the moment of suspecting that 'something's not right'...Davis has to fight medical, educational, therapeutic and other professionals in order to get the help that his son Chris needs...the strategies he uses - never taking no for an answer - will fortify many a parent fighting so that their child receives the help he or she needs and which is badly needed right now. Parents of an autistic child are struggling, and Breaking Autism's Barriers will come as a comfort to many fathers and mothers who feel they are in the dark about how to help their child' ---Jill Curtis, family2000onwards.com

'I learned more about children with autism spectrum disorders in one day with Bill Davis and his family than in all the time I have spent on this issue before or since. Also, I discovered the remarkable dedication and tenacity of parents whose children are challenged by disabilities. This book will be an inspiration to every parent of a special child.' --- Congressman Jim Greenwood - Sponsor of the Advancement in Pediatric Autism Act and Autism Advocate

About the Author

Bill Davis is actively involved in autism advocacy work and has lobbied congressmen and senators for CAN (Cure Autism Now). A board member of the local Pennsylvania Autism Society, he has recently been nominated to be the chapter's Vice-President. The Autism Society of America has also asked Bill to serve on its national committee. He is one of the founders and board members of Pathfinders, a new organization dedicated to forming a state-of-the-art autism center for research, training, autism-support education and therapy. He is Pennsylvania State Representative for Unlocking Autism, an advocacy group.

Wendy Goldband Schunick has a Master's degree in social work and has been a television news producer in Washington DC and Baltimore. She was presented the World Hunger Media Award at the United Nations for a series about hunger in America, before deciding to start a family. She has written oral histories for private publication and owns Tooth Fairy Tales, a children's audiotape company.

Product Details

• Paperback: 398 pages
• Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Pub; 1 edition (February 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1853029793
• ISBN-13: 978-1853029790
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,156,074 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life-Changing Book, May 10, 2001

By 

Rayelenn S Casey (Landisville, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breaking Autism's Barriers: A Father's Story (Paperback)

You can't miss the hard-headed commitment, the dogged won't-take-no-for-an-answer determination of this father in his loving and relentless pursuit of appropriate services for his son with autism. Bill Davis "tells it like it is" -- no wishy-washiness, no pie-in-the sky, no empty promises or fairy tale endings. His book makes clear the unfathomable depth of his love -- his passion -- for his beautiful son Chris, and the unyielding belief that no work is too hard, no frustration too crippling, no sacrifice too great if the goals are to provide for his son avenues by which this child with autism can make sense of our complex, swirling, overstimulating world, and find ways to express his own rich perceptions, ideas, and wit.

Read this book if you have a child with autism. Buy it and give it as a gift (as I have twice already) to someone you know who has a child with autism.

Read this book, too, if you have or know a child with ANY disability, for in Bill and Jae Davis' story of working with educational authorities, "working the system", "fighting the system" , improving the system, and not "settling" for halfway measures is a model for all parents of ALL kids with so-called special needs.

But read this book if what you're looking for is just a good love story. The love that springs out of every page is real and unsentimental. The whole story is here -- the love of Bill and Jae for each other despite fatigue and frustrations and fights, the love for their daughter Jessica and Jessica's love for Chris, and the loving personality of Chris himself, the true hero of the book.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fathers Story of Love and Commitment, August 5, 2001

By 

lynn a helton (thompsons station, tn United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breaking Autism's Barriers: A Father's Story (Paperback)

When starting this book I felt it would be a technical rendition of an Autistics child's life. Boy was I surprised to read the heart felt story about a father, a mother and two children caught up in the baffling world of Autism. From the diagnosis, through the stress of daily life the commitment between these family members was so touching and compelling forcing me to reexamine my own life's priorities. The Davis' obstacle ridden devotion to further education and community awareness of this disease is nothing less than admirable, and hopes that through Mr. Davis' advocacy work he can compel others to open their eyes.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Revealing truth of homelife with an autistic child, December 6, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Breaking Autism's Barriers: A Father's Story (Paperback)

Bill is so candid in his telling of the Davis family's life with Chris. He gives so much of himself and asks nothing in return. He is constantly out in the community advocating for not only his child but all children and adults with Autism. I'm proud to say I know him and I throughly enjoyed his book. If your child has been diagnosed you really should read this. Some parts will make you cry but many will make you laugh and say "Oh my god I'm not the only one!" It's an excellent book told from a point of view many never get to see. -Tracy Gipe, mother of a ten year old with ASD and his two younger siblings without.