A Real Boy: A True Story of Autism, Early Intervention, and Recovery (Paperback)

~ (Author) "I am watching Jonah play..." (more)
Key Phrases: jump house, autistic kids, verbal imitation, Doreen Granpeesheh, Los Angeles, Regional Center (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Adams's son, Jonah, was two years and eight months old when he was diagnosed as autistic. Eighteen months later, child development specialists evaluating Jonah couldn't believe he'd had a history of autism. What made the difference? Adams—with the help of her lawyer husband—devoted herself completely to Jonah's treatment, starting immediately with a rigorous gluten and casein-free diet. They enrolled the young boy in a 40-hour a week, one-on-one ABA ("applied behavioral analysis") program for autistic children, supplemented with individual speech therapy and physical therapy. Jonah also took various drugs to reduce perseverative behavior and overall anxiety. Adams, a self-described "Autism Mommy," worked full-time on the intervention process, advocating for Jonah's needs with the school system so they'd cover his high bills, cooking Jonah's special foods and interfacing with each therapist privately and then collectively to help Jonah integrate the lessons into real-world situations. It's pleasing to see Jonah make such a dramatic improvement, although some readers may feel uneasy at how quickly this two-year-old was labeled autistic, or feel disturbed by the intensity of his treatment plan. With the number of children on the autism spectrum growing, Adams's upbeat, inspirational account has a ready-made market—at least with other autism "super parents." Agent, Marcy Posner. (May 3)
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From Booklist

When Adams' son, Jonah, at just over two-and-a-half, was diagnosed with autism, she was told that time was of the essence. Early, aggressive intervention would provide his only chance at realizing any semblance of a normal life. Luckily, she and husband Jack had the energy, time, and resources to spring into action. Thus, before his third birthday Jonah had a posse attending his every need. The family had consulted a battery of doctors, therapists, teachers, psychologists, and counselors. They had connected with other parents of children diagnosed with ASD (autism spectrum disorder), radically changed Jonah's diet, and set up a 40-hours-per-week learning regimen; and they were devoting nearly every waking, nonworking hour to Jonah's development. The Herculean effort resulted in Jonah's recovery--though, Adams notes, the line demarcating recovery from autism wavers like smoke--and proved that if it takes a village to raise a child, it can take an army to raise a child with autism. Adams' openness about the exhaustive schedule, self-blame, and frequent setbacks involved makes compelling reading. Donna Chavez
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (May 3, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425202437
• ISBN-13: 978-0425202432
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #363,532 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Written with honesty, sympathy and love, but it still hurts, October 5, 2005

By	Suzanne Amara (MA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Of the books of this type, about "recoveries" from autism by extreme intervention, diet, medication, etc, this book is probably the best I've read. The author seems to have much sympathy for others. I loved it that she made a point to get to know adults on the autistic spectrum and to appreciate their good qualities, and that she seemed to realize how lucky she was to have the resourses she did to help her son. She also didn't have the air of someone with total confidence in herself, which was endearing to me. I felt her story and Jonah's was honestly told, and I am glad he is doing as well as he is.

With that said, books like this can be very hurtful to read. I have a son on the spectrum. He was diagnosed at an early age with classic autism. Even if I had known about all the interventions talked about here, having the funds or the wherewithall to make them happen would have been about as likely as me sprouting wings and flying to the moon. We couldn't have paid for even one of the experts that Jonah saw. Our school district would have laughed for days at a plan like the one Jonah's agreed to. We were in no way able to move to a different district. If I had read this book when my son was young, I would have cried for hours, because I couldn't help him as the author did.

However, my son today no longer even meets the criteria for Aspergers Syndrome, to say nothing of autism. He still has unusual traits, but he is in a gifted program at school and would not be seen by almost anyone as having autism. I didn't do much to acheive this beyond what our poor school district offered, and what a mother's love does on its own. No special diets, no ABA, a few free social skills groups when I could....

Books like this sometimes make you feel you should plan very carefully before having a child with autism!! If only you could! You should make sure you live in a rich school district and have a great deal of money yourself, you must make sure your child is an only child so you can give them all your attention, you must believe wholeheartedly in special diets, you must be an intellectual...if not, perhaps you should think twice before having that autistic child! Oh, that's right---YOU CAN'T! So until all parents can do what this parent did, you might want to think twice about reading this book. There is nothing wrong with what Christina Adams did, there is much right with it. But it's not the only route to recovery.

32 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Okay but other books should be read first - author sounds like she is self promoting herself, June 27, 2005

By	K. Gray "kennypop702" (Salt Lake City, Utah) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you just found a loved one is autistic and don't know where to start I would recomend reading some other books first. A good place to start is Facing Autism by Lyn Hamilton and Overcoming Autism by Lynn Kern. Those books will give you a better overview of what to expect and what you can do rather than this book.

The Autism Spectrum is very large and not every child classified as autistic is the same. I think those other books do a better for a wider audience than this one. Her son seemed, from her descriptions, to have a lot more abilities than a lot of autistic kids do and I think that (along with her great efforts)is part of the reason why her son was able to improve.

It buged me that the author is constantly ripping on people who don't do as much for their kids as she did for hers. She even goes into detail classifying the different types of "autism mommies" and what each group is willing to do. Of course she is in the group that will do anything for their kid and should be highly thought of and respected. Don't get me wrong, I agree that the only real way to treat autism is to tackle it full time. Autistic kids need intensive programs to get better. What she fails to realize is is that not everyone with an autistic kid has a boatload of money. She could afford to do some things for her son that others can't do because her and her husband had the finacial means to do such, to hire a lawyer to sue the school districts and to get programs started (heaven forbid she suffered too.... they had to sell their cabin) before funding could kick in, and to pay for the drug treatments. Not everyone has the financial means to do that.

She also only has one child. She doesn't have anything in here about what to do if you have multiple children and one of them is autistic. It becomes a lot harder to concentrate all your efforts one one child when you have others at home that need your attention as well.

It almost sounds throughout the book that she's promoting herself for sainthood before she dies.

Anyway, I thought the book was well written and interesting to read and there were a lot of good ideas but if you are just getting started learning about autism and what you can do for a loved one then I would start elsewhere. If you already know a lot about autism and are just looking for something else to read on the subject then it's a decent and interesting read.

I do applaud her efforts and what she did for her son.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I felt like a failure as a parent of a child diagnosed with an ASD., December 20, 2005

By	clara89 (MO USA) - See all my reviews

My son has been diagnosed with an ASD. He turns 5 next week. I read this book and I cried. I lost sleep when I read this book. Why? Because clearly Ms. Adams has the resources and money to get what she felt was needed for her son. I admire her single-mindedness but how on earth can all parents of children with ASD's be expected to do this? I'm the primary earner in my family and my husband at present is unemployed. We rely on our school district to provide the services that Stephen needs. I cannot open my home to therapists for 40 hours a week or see the army of specialists that Ms. Adams and her son saw. I have to work and provide for my family! So, I felt like a failure. I felt that the window for early intervention for my son is closing because he will turn the dreaded 5! I don't have the support network of other "Autism Mommies" that Ms. Adams has.

On the up side, this book spurred me to think more of what my son needs. I'm going to ask for an IEP meeting with his special education teachers and therapists. I'm going to demand more speech and occupational therapy. And I will become intimately familiar with IDEA to know what my rights as a parent are when working with my district.

Perhaps, Ms. Adams your next book could be one that reflects a more realistic picture of what a working family goes through when dealing with the ASD diagnosis.