Customer Reviews

The small outsider;: The story of an autistic child

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Our grandson was 8 and a half when we found this book a while back. It was already dated historically speaking; having been written in 1973 and covering a time frame in the late 60's / early '70s ... long before Autism was made popular, if one will pardon the expression. But we immediately connected because David was quite similar to our grandson in several ways. One of the things we came away with was that there was improvement as David matured. And, in the past 18 months we have seen significant improvement in our grandson's ability to communicate. But those early years ... oh so familiar. This book is an excellent read and [grand]parents of Autistic children will laugh and cry and generally connect with Joan. We searched for her to inquire as to David's current life experience and learned, regretfully, that Joan had passed away nearly a decade ago. If anyone runs across a member of the Hundley family and they would be willing to share (privately if they like) how David is doing these days, feel free to contact us.

I struggled to keep reading but neither could I put this story of the Hundley family and their love for David down. I've had no experience or contact with autism, except several months ago a handsome young man (in his 30s)in the supermarket, apparently alone, kept turning in tight circles (smiling even when he saw me watching him)as he continued shopping. From some of your descriptions I think perhaps he was autistic & now I'd like to see him again and say hello. Thank you for writing this journal, for allowing your readers to come into your lives. I can't adequately convey my respect, admiration & appreciation for you and other families who have fought so hard, and continue to fight, I'm sure, for your children. I would love to have an update on your family if at all possible