Customer Reviews

A Different Kind of Boy: A Father's Memoir on Raising a Gifted Child With Autism

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I stayed up until 1:30 am last night finishing this book. The Monts' story is moving and engrossing, filled with unexpected and often hilarious delightful surprises. I never laugh out loud when reading, but I did so while reading this one, many times. Alex's back and forth with his dad about the economics of grocery stores and amusement parks, his utter inability to comprehend why Jackie Robinson wasn't welcomed by every major league team ("But why, he was a great player, right?"), and his endless fascination and facility for games (tic-tac-toe with gravity, so that you can't put a symbol in any square that isn't on top of another symbol or at the bottom of the grid - try it!) are particularly memorable.

This first-time author displays a strong, clear writing voice, particularly in the last two-thirds of the book, when it seemed like he really locked into a narrative comfort zone that made the book flow extremely well, not to mention impossible to put down. His use of snippets of quoted dialog throughout the book is particularly striking and effective.

Perhaps more important, the book opens up and explains the world of autism in a way that really allows the reader to understand and feel the nature of the condition. In the course of recounting observations and scenes from his own life and experiences with Alex, he manages to illustrate the various facets of autism and view them from a number of different directions. I found it both fascinating and even mind-blowing in many ways.

I highly recommend this book. For people like me, who are relatively uneducated about the world of autism, it will make you think about people in a new way.

This is a beautiful memoir of committed parents raising a special child but there is much to be learned in it about being attentive to your child's needs and being an advocate for your own child.

The honesty of this book is a gift to all of us. It lays bare the struggles, self doubts, trials and errors, as well as successes this family has experienced. The author opens a window for us into the life of his family, involving his wife and their younger child who does not have autism, his parents, and his own siblings.

The author describes how they sought resources, worked with the school systems and strategized. Although encounters with unkind, unfeeling or clueless individuals are shown, there are many instances of kindness and support by children and adults that surprised this reader. One comes away amazed by the resourcefulness and committment of these parents.

The book is also enjoyable and interesting. I read it the day I received it and was up until 2am to finish it.

Totally fascinated with the mathematically gifted autistic Alex, his parents, and the strength of their marriage, I empathize with them as they learn to deal with his uniqueness. Not without humor, Daniel and Nanette Mont show fierce determination as they grapple with the necessity to socialize and school their extraordinary child, while Alex' "NT" (neurologically typical or "normal") younger brother Simon finds his ways of reaching him. I couldn't put the book down.

A Different Kind Of Boy: A Father's Memoir About Raising A Gifted Child with Autism is the personal memoir of Daniel Mont, the father of an autistic boy. Daniel's fourth grade son Alex has difficulty interacting with the world and other people, is prone to anxiety, and has no real friends. But Alex is an amazing child prodigy in math, and one of seven fourth graders in the United States to ace the National Math Olympiad. A Different Kind Of Boy is a heartfelt, candid, and ultimately inspiring tale of the struggle of a father to teach his gifted child the awareness the boy needs to survive and connect with others, while making the most of his prodigious talents. A Different Kind Of Boy is highly recommended reading for any parent of an autistic or specially gifted child.

I read this book on a long plane ride, and the hours, well, FLEW by. The book is touching, poignant, searing, heartfelt, informative, and FUNNY. On one page I'd be tearing up; on the next I'd be laughing out loud (on the plane, remember). The book lets us all understand what it feels like to be the parent of an autistic child. Unlike many memoir writers, Mont shares his emotions without being maudlin. He vividly depicts the dismissiveness and lack of understanding on the part of other parents, the pain, fear and uncertainty of new parents trying to cope with and understand their child, the lack of knowledge even among experts, and the difference a caring adult or friend can make. The book is filled with great analogies and pithy, often humorous, insights. The book made me wish that all parents cared this much about their children.

This book is worthwhile reading for anyone who has ever been in contact with someone who seems intellectual but is unable to "connect" with people.

The journey of the book, as others have commented, is take the reader through the symptoms, diagnosis and coping with Alex's autism. There exists only a small subset of the population which is autistic and only a small subset of the population capable of digesting, providing insight and sharing live experience with first rate written communication. This book occupies a unique space in that the gifted author has the full life experience with the autistic child, which experience is shared with us all in this book.

Given the subject matter of the book, as others have commented, this book should be required reading for anyone who is in regular contact with a bright autistic person. Yet the insights in this book can go much further. More generally, this book will be helpful to the reader in relating to the bright, unapproachable segment of the population that almost everyone comes into contact with. Many people, of all ages, will gain insight into how to relate better to some of the people in their everyday lives.

Many books are read for their educational value, others for their entertainment. The book is so well-paced and engaging as to provide "edu-tainment" -- you can't put it down, and when you've finished you've learned a lot of new information. The same material could have been covered with a dry, academic style which would really only be read and digested by few. But Daniel Mont, as the modest but extremely bright father in his own right (Ph.Ds don't grow on trees, do they?), displays a gift for real communication. The author seems to understand very well what will motivate the reader to turn the next page.

I highly recommend this book, on so many levels.

At Montgomery Village Middle School, in Montgomery County, Maryland, I was priviledged enough to have the opportunity to have Algebra 1 class with Alex, in 1999. To this day, those in that class still remember him, for how brilliant he obviously was and is. At times, he had to correct our teacher, one who had been teaching algebra for thirty years. He would finish his work and begin working on trigonometry and calculus problems, at least four years ahead of most other student's pace. Not only was he exceedingly bright, he was an honest and trustworthy student. Never would Alex let anyone even take a peek at his paper. And, on top of that, he would sometimes attempt to tell us jokes or tell us about his favorite sports teams. Everyone in the class knew he was autistic, or at the least was not "normal." Howver, he was the most liked student in the class. I have not read this book, but plan to. I just wanted to tell some people of my own experiences with this exceptional person. I wish Alex the best of luck, though, knowing him, I'm sure he would attempt to disprove any theories relating to luck altogether.

I, too, have a high-functioning very smart son with autism about the same age as the boy in this book, so I ordered "A Different Kind of Boy" as soon as I heard about it. I loved it. The way the author showed the events in his family's life and the evolution of his and his wife's perspective was wonderful. I identified with most of the author's experiences, especially those involving interactions with schools and teachers. Besides my autistic son, I have two other sons with different disorders. The frustrations the author in had dealing with trying to get the world to "get it" applies to all three of my sons' situations. I highly recommend this terrific book for teachers, medical professionals, and especially for parents of children with any special needs.

A unique book with extraordinary insights. The author draws on some very personal experience and takes you into the mind of an autistic child. A great book to better understand how to approach an autistic child, and, more importantly, how an autistic child approaches others. A great and easy read.

While reading, A Different Kind of Boy: A Father's Memoir About Raising a Gifted Child with Autism, I found myself stopping early on to recall how my two children were as babies and toddlers before the diagnosis of autism arrived. The author, Daniel Mont, shares his frustrations along with observations as the primary caregiver to Alex, his first born son. While his wife Nannette was working outside the home the first few years, Daniel was spending hours reading books to Alex.

When Daniel got a teaching position at Cornell they moved to upstate New York with Nannette taking over the daily duties pertaining to Alex. They noticed that Alex did not take any interest in other children when at the playground and had difficulty at the store. Since this was their first child when Simon was born a few years later they realized with regret how much slower Alex was with milestones and the lack of social skills.

Daniel shares the relief once the diagnosis was made and the steps taken to get there, including the time a preschool teacher accused them of being abusive parents. There are a few choice words at this point in the book when Daniel incites the rage he was feeling from this attack and how he and Nannette focused on getting some assistance with Alex instead of getting on the defensive. For most families that have a child on the autism spectrum this is a predicament that happens often, and due to the lack of awareness for those who work with small children. Many of his colleagues and family members thought they were spoiling Alex, but later they learned how additional measures need to be put in place to help the autistic child fit in with society and how things work.

Daniel wrote about growing up with a sister who had a disability, but never received a formal diagnosis for her handicap. When Alex was diagnosed Daniel was able to reach out to his mother and learn from her experience. Alex received speech therapy early on with the therapist assisting him in social situations, guiding him in the art of the conversation and how to relate to others.

There is no mention about vaccinations or questioning why Alex is the way he is. Time is spent trying to get inside the world of Alex and how he thinks. The book is written in a style that is easy to comprehend for anyone who lacks information on autism. Daniel mentions a few books that helped him early on and how he joined some internet groups and the guidance he received from adults with autism. The family accepted autism and made adjustments to accommodate Alex so that he could thrive being himself. Daniel and his family grew up in New Jersey, which is where I was raised as well and have a sibling with a disability.

A Different Kind of Boy: A Father's Memoir About Raising a Gifted Child with Autism covers the time from when Alex was born to fifth grade. At this point in time Daniel is picturing life when his sons have moved on to college and their own lives. This was something he was not sure would happen, but now he believes that Alex will have success in life. Family relationships are mentioned and how they handled the loss of Daniel's mother.

I felt the second half flowed smoother than the first. The beginning chapters I had to go back and see what age Alex was at the time since I was confused with the timeframe, due to chapters being out of sequence. Every so often when reading a chapter the author would refer back to his childhood or a few years back with either Alex or Simon.

The author does not gloss over any issues and gives honest feedback on how he felt at pivotal times in his life and the anxiety about school, plus finding friends for Alex. He finished this book after his mother passed on and pursued his acting career further.

This book is perfectly suited for anyone who wants to know more about living with a child who is autistic and would be beneficial to family members who have someone on the spectrum and may live out of town or in another state. This will help parents know what struggles other families have gone through and give guidance on how to navigate the system to enable your child to thrive in their surroundings.