Customer Reviews

Too Wise to be Mistaken, Too Good to be Unkind: Christian Parents Contend with Autism

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Too Wise To Be Mistaken; Too Good To Be Unkind is a must-read for all Bibically-minded parents facing the challenge of raising a child with a disability!! It was first recommended to us by our family doctor, and proved to be a turning point in our lives.

As a mother of 4 small children, one with autism and mild CP, this book was a God-send. It was the single most helpful and theologically sound book that I have read in my struggle to find appropriate and God-honoring treatment for our son. In this excellent book, I was encouraged to think Bibically about our son, God's provision, treatment options, and our own ability as parents to deal with our son's disabilities. I feel completely confident now that we are ordained by God as parents to make appropriate decsions for our child, and that God's hand and grace are upon His children. That He has given us "all things pertaining to life and godliness.." Therefore, we can find all the answers for how to deal with a disability using Bibical principles, which are so clearly outlined in Cathy Steere's book! In this book, she shares the story of early life with her son Drew~how they parented him (this could be considered a parenting manual as well, in my opinion!), how they found out he has autism, and then their journey through the options available to them.

Though Cathy does not promote *one* single way of dealing with a disability, we personally found that the approach she and her husband chose for their own son, has worked for us as well. We used her resource lists found in the book to contact specialists across the country, finally finding "our" specialist for our son Josiah. We homeschool our children, but wondered if our disabled son would fare as well in that environment as oppossed to with the "professionals." After reading Cathy's book and with much prayer and research, we found that we could **indeed** homeschool our son and that he would certainly fare even better than if put in the school environment! Above all, we have become confident in simply thinking Bibically about each trial and decision that comes our way. Knowing God is sovereign, His love abounds to His own children, and that He is sufficient for all our needs, including those regarding our autistic son...these things give us hope and comfort.

Too Wise To Be Mistaken; Too Good To Be Unkind was the single most helpful tool in our journey to "leave no stone unturned" in the quest for what is best for our son. God brought it to us at just the right time. I have recommended it to dozens of families. Our family doctor also recommends it to all his patients who have an autistic or disabled child. I cannot recommend this book more highly~~it is a must-read!!!!!!!!!! ~Anna Thorburn

I am a parent of twin daughters in the autistic spectrum and I have read through many books about autism: some clinical, some from a parents perspective. This book was such a breath of fresh air. I am so grateful that Cathy Steere shared her story. Cathy's struggle mirrored mine in many ways. As a parent of autistic children, it is very difficult to know how to discipline and teach them. Many people without autistic children or children at all, claim to be experts in the area of child raising. I tend to listen to other parents who have done the job successfully, who love their children and who hold to a strong faith in God. The Bible does not address autism per se but it does address child raising, it gives examples of wise people and foolish people, and we do have the example of Jesus Christ. I would highly recommend this book to any parent of a child diagnosed as being PDD-NOS, Autistic Spectrum Disorder, or Autism. I trust parents to be able to read Cathy Steere's book and judge for themselves. I don't believe Cathy Steere is an elitist as she is not among the "professional elite" that try to mold and shape public opinion. She is a mother who dearly loves her child and wants to do what's best for him and shared her story so that what she learned could benefit other parents.

Cathy Steere shares in her book how she and her husband, David, coped with -- and then conquered -- her son Drew's autism. Through consistent, prayerful parenting, steadfast routine, and a home-based neurodevelopmental program, the Steere's brought their son out of this most devastating of developmental disabilities. With an occasional touch of gentle humor, Cathy leads us through the tears, fears, and victories in Drew's story. This is a story of faith and the rewards of clinging to God's word and His promises. Most of all, it is a story of hope for all parents, especially those new and not-so-new to a world turned upside down by autism.

I found this book to be extremely encouraging. Like Mrs. Steere, I am a mother to a first-born child with autism. I, too, thought his strange behaviors were "normal" and it took the birth of my second child to begin to see just how challenged my first-born child was/is although I did recognize some of his unusual habits/reactions before then. I experienced many of the same thinking processes, emotions, fears, sadnesses, doubts about my mothering, intentional/unintentional harshness from others and struggles that she relates in this book. We searched and searched for help, spending many years and dollars in the process and reaping a lot of frustration and "hind-sight" wisdom.
This book is not a detailed textbook (and I don't think Mrs. Steere intended it to be); it is a parent-to-parent from-the-heart retelling of Mr and Mrs. Steere's journey from pre-birth until they found solid answers and real help for their son's needs. I found times when I could not put the book down!
Our family has recently started the same therapy program (NeuroDevelopmental or ND for short) that Mrs. Steere mentions in the latter part of the book. I was quite skeptical at first, since so many other therapies we encountered before had promised my husband and me everything from total cure to elimination of any learning/social/behavior problems and then produced little to nothing. The best of them helped our son's debilitating autistic attributes to decelerate somewhat but did not improve anything. With this ND therapy, we are seeing so many good solid levels of improvement and a lot of that improvement happened within the first 4 to 6 weeks! He is now building upon the earlier improvements. Both my husband and I feel that this particular therapy is the best avenue for him.
One of the very best aspects of this therapy (neurodevelopmental) is that each program is tailored to the child's specific needs. If two children in one family are both using this therapy, they will have 2 different programs because they will have different needs. Since autism produces such widely varied inefficiencies and over/under-development in areas of sensory, tactility, occular, hearing, and other areas, having a program that matches the child's needs with the specific therapies to address those needs and ONLY those needs is the most efficient and effective way to approach remediation.
One part of Mrs. Steere's book that I really appreciated is the discipline issue as they implimented good discipline and then encountered others who felt they were too strict or felt that children with autism could not be disciplined at all or felt that harsh discipline would solve the whole problem. Since we had encountered all those scenarios as well, I was both encouraged and comforted to continue to train all my children, not just the "typical" ones, in a godly manner, with kindness and love and truth. We found out later, as did the Steeres, that children who have had consistent training and discipline respond to appropriate therapy more quickly and easier than children who are left to themselves.
This is a very good book for parenting children with autism. I plan to buy a second copy to share with others.
Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Steere for your willingness to share and become vulnerable; this book will bless many families!

My friend ordered this book several weeks ago, and finally just got notice from Amazon that they are unable to get this title in the old edtiion (2000)---it is out of print except for the copies on the Marketplace feature. If you want to order this book, click on "other editions" above. This will take you to the Amazon site of the newly released second edition (2005) of this title. That one ships to you within 24 hours.

There are many new copies of this new edition available and it is well worth reading. It is updated with Drew's progress and more information. It is recommended by Joni Erickson Tada and has a forward written by Ted Tripp. Be sure to order the new 2005 edition!

This is an incredible book that reinforced the following principles to me: 1. a child with a disability must be under loving control (emphasis on loving) in order to have the will to learn and defeat his/ her disabilities. We have seen this principle proven in our own son who has autism. 2 months in a "special program" (not home based) only taught him to drink from a sippy cup at age 4. At home, after being trained to obey, he can now happily learn what we teach him...and he is excelling.

2. God gives the strength for the task He ordains for us. 3. Parents are the expert on their own children. They should take advantage of any and all research and tools in the area of their child's disability, but they should never "lay down" their role of cheif-decision maker. They should very practically and sensibly go through all the research available to them, meet with the specialists,and then pray, pray, and reach what is the ideal approach for their child. Then, trust God for the strength, confidence, and money to follow it through.

I am appalled at the review of the psycotherapist (and wonder at their credentials). It does not sound as if they even read the book. Cathy Steere did not in any way come across as an "elitist" or an "abuser" in ANY way. This woman loves her children, sacrificed and worked tirelessly to give her children the very best. It is unfortunate that the "psycotherapist" could not see this.

~~Mother from NY State

Too Wise To Be Mistaken, Too Good To Be Unkind is excellent in every way. This emotional story of how the Steeres approached their responsibilities as parents demonstrate how we all should approach our responsibilities -- with the Bible as our guide. They perservered even when the outcome was not as they expected. I believe that Cathy Steere is the expert regarding Drew. But when they consulted "experts", they were told that the structure they had provided was just what he needed. This structure is providing continual progress. One lesson of great encouragement: God equips us for the task He gives.

The day I found out my 3-year-old son was autistic I ordered the book, "Too Wise To Be Mistaken, Too Good To Be Unkind": Christian Parents Contend With Autism by Cathy Steere. I must admit I cried the whole way through the book. I couldn't put the book down because someone actually knew the pain I was experiencing. I felt so alone and isolated until I read Cathy's book. Her words gave me such comfort and hope in my darkest hour. I thank God that she had the courage to write so honestly about our struggles. My husband had no idea what life was like at home until he read this book. It was hard for me to verbalize my struggles to him, but "Too Wise To Be Mistaken, Too Good To Be Unkind" put those things into perfect perspective for him. He is now more understanding with me, and has a greater patience with our son's struggles. When friends and family ask what they can do to help I give them a copy of "Too Wise To Be Mistaken, Too Good To Be Unkind": Christian Parents Contend With Autism, by Cathy Steere.

The author's descriptive style makes this book a joy to read.

More importantly, it's full of practical advice and real hope. Because these parents so carefully documented every step they took on the road to their son's recovery and because of the Biblical philosophy that disciplines their lives, this is the most helpful book to be found for Christian parents seeking to raise their special needs child in the nurture and instruction of the Lord. The author addresses all the questions that naturally flood a parents mind concerning what's best for their child.

If you are a Christian parent on a similar journey, reading this book FIRST, will save you a lot of time and error.

Naturally, the Biblical mind set of this book will conflict with the secular, humanistic advice offered in the majority of research available on the topics of parenting, autism and special needs children. (I Cor. 2:14)

"Too Wise To Be Mistaken, Too Good to Be Unkind" is a very warm and wonderfully written book that follows a mother through a very difficult time in the life of her first child and finally a diagnosis of autism. Her faith in God is put to the test as she and her husband go through struggle after struggle with their newborn child that quickly turns into a hard to handle toddler. The book is written in somewhat of a journal format and I found it gripping and hard to put down. As a mother of five children, I wept with this mother and rejoiced with her, as she went through the hard days and experienced small victories. Even though I do not have an autistic child, I found this book very encouraging and helpful in strengthening my own walk with the Lord on a daily basis. I have highly recommended this book to all parents I have met that have autistic children, or those that know someone with an autistic child.