There's a Boy in Here (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA-- Autism is generally considered incurable, but Sean Barron and his mother have proven that it can be overcome. This fascinating story tells how the boy, who seemed normal at birth, became increasingly uncontrollable with bouts of repetitive activities and no method of communication. Despite recommendations that he be institutionalized, his parents insisted that he go to public school and, eventually, he was able to change his behavior himself. This story is told in the dual voices of both mother and son. The insights that the young man now has into his behavior and what he remembers from his experiences are riveting. A fast-paced and engrossing book.
- Dorothy Addison, Woodlawn School, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This is the compelling and unique story of the Barrons' long and often painful fight to "reach" their autistic son and help him live a normal life. Judy Barron narrates most of the story, giving an in-depth account of son Sean's early years, his behavioral problems, and the terrible inadequacies of the medical field in providing care for him. Sean provides an extremely interesting counterpoint to his mother's stories. His explanations for various behaviors (e.g., repeating the same action over and over, which he claims gave him a sense of security) is often different from how his parents interpreted them. This interesting book for the general reader provides insight into the world of the autistic child. Highly recommended. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 11/15/91.
- Jennifer Langlois, Missouri Western State Coll. Lib., St. Joseph
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Avon Books (Mm) (October 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380722925
• ISBN-13: 978-0380722921
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,211,877 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very helpful for the parent of an autistic child, January 13, 2005

By	Dr R M. Siegfried (Garden City, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: There's a Boy in Here (Paperback)

When my wife and I found out that our son, Jason, was autistic, it was devastating. My wife was in denial for about a month and I felt like my whole world collapsed. I went looking for books on autism and stumbled on this one first.

Sean Barron was probably more severely autistic than my son; Jason was actually diagnosed as Pervasive Development Disorder: Not Otherwise Specified, which is a catchall for disorders that are akin to autism but less severe in nature. The book gave us an insight into what it means to be autistic: the inabiity to interpret sensory data in the normal manner. This in turn leads to everything else: the loss of language (or failure to pick it up), the great difficulties in socializing, etc.

The fact that the book provides (in italicized segments) Sean's own insights makes it invaluable. Much of what his mother writes provides insights into how wearing it can be on a family, but so much has changed since Sean was a child that I could not say that it provides much useful advice in the therapies to seek for a child with autism.

The good news is that many children CAN improve significantly. Jason is now 8-1/2, he is mainstreamed in school, he does well, and he has some friends. My wife and I have reached our dream: hearing him talk so much that we wish he would take a break.

The bad news is that not every child will succeed like that, and the road is still a very difficult one, leaving parents short on cash, time and attention to spare on their other children.

This book still remains a great place to start.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Just another Autism Story, October 2, 2004

By	Callista "from SMS Book Reviews" (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: There's a Boy in Here (Paperback)

This book is the first I've seen and read that was written or partially written by the person WITH autism. The mother recounts her son's life and then Sean himself interjects with what he remembers of that time in his life. I didn't know that those with Autism remembered how they acted and why they did it. It's a real eye opener to the autism world. What many autistic kids do is not longer just "weird" and "pointless" behaviour. Sean explains why he did such repititious things. For anyone even remotely interested in autism and definitely for anyone who has an autistic in the family, this a must read. I was captivated and couldn't put the book down. What also makes this an interesting read is Sean was born in the 60's. Back then, there was very little known about Autism and what people thought they knew was later proved wrong. Raising an autistic kid in the 60's and 70's was a lot harder than it is today.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a family account from both sides of the glass, June 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: There's a Boy in Here (Hardcover)

While many books on autism tell either from a family or individual's viewpoint, this story is unique in that it presents the perspective from both sides. Paired with the mother's account is one of her son with autism. This was written during a time when autism was still between psychoanalysis & neurology so some of the interventions seem misguided (although acceptable at the time). When Sean reaches high school & begins to recognize himself as an autistic indiviual, it is an unusual awakening. Good family-account/personal-account reading.