Maverick Mind

by Cheri Florance

A scientist and therapist describes her struggle to communicate with her own son Whitney, a child diagnosed with autism, her intensive search for answers and solutions, and her discovery of the many mysteries of the human brain. 25,000 first printing.

Genres: Nonfiction

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Carrie Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was frustrating to read. I appreciated the author's experience as a mother, trying her best to help her son. But I kept wanting to shake her and yell, "Your son is autistic!"

I don't think that autism is bad. I see it as a difference in the way some people's brains work, and interestingly, Florance did basically come to that conclusion about her son. But she could not accept that the difference was autism. She seriously believed that she had discovered a new syndrome and was trying to get other people to accept this conclusion. In fairness, autism was really misunderstood in the last century (and still is to a certain degree), so her idea of what autism meant was very incorrect. But almost every description she gave of her son was so characteristic of autism that it just felt ridiculous every time she tried to deny that he was autistic.

Her alternate theories felt very uncomfortable to me, often because I wanted her to accept the child she had instead of trying to "fix" him. But I do think she was very well-intentioned, and it sounds like her efforts had positive effects. She kept saying throughout the book that her son used to be deaf, when it seems to me that he just didn't react to sound the way that she expected. When her son was able to fit into society, she considered him "recovered," and when he had difficulties, she called it a "relapse." Autistic people don't "recover" from autism, and the idea is appalling to me. But when her son needed help and support, as all children do, she offered it. She was constantly advocating for him, and she refused to put him in a residential facility away from his family when others suggested that. Cheri Florance loves her son. I just kept wanting her to understand him better.

I'll acknowledge the hypocrisy of this review, because I'm claiming to understand someone's child without even meeting him. Maybe I'm completely off base. My thoughts are based on my understanding of autism, and I don't think that when this book was written people understood autism the way we are beginning to now. Nevertheless, I'm sharing my experience that I had when reading the book.

[dutchgal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping for a bit more of the actual methods with which this author broke through her son’s inability to communicate. There was a lot of talk about verbal vs visual thinking throughout the book that frankly got very repetitive. At one point the boy vocalizes, and in the next chapter it sounds like he’s talking full sentences. The book makes sense on some level but it gaps out in other ways. I found it difficult to relate to the story, even as a speech therapist myself. I work with autistic children and this book was surprisingly unrelatable.

[Michal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am of two minds about this book, which is about a mother and her son, who was diagnosed as autistic and mentally handicapped. The book describes how the mother helped her son, Whitney, overcome his disabilities. As a baby, toddler and young child, Whitney was totally disconnected from the world, without communication, and sometimes biting and kicking when he didn't understand what was going on or couldn't make his desires known. His mom used her professional training and experience as a speech and hearing therapist to treat him. She was so successful that by the time Whitney was 15, he was college bound. Although I did some brief internet research, I could not determine the validity of his initial diagnosis, nor the view of the mainstream medical and psychological communities regarding this "case study" and the treatments designed and carried out by the author. So I am left with only the word of this author, and therefore take the book with a grain of salt. On the other hand, the story is remarkable, both for Whitney's mental and social development over the course of his life into young adulthood that is described here, and for the creativity, skill, devotion and fierce determination on the part of his mother in the face of obstacles that defeat most parents faced with these problems.

[Ellyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is another book that I would be interested to read again now that I have so much more knowledge about and experience with autism. The author's son is diagnosed with autism as a young child and given a poor prognosis, but she sees promise in his highly developed visual skills, and she becomes his unrelenting advocate, going against all of the experts in her attempts to teach him to speak, read, interact, and learn. The author's devotion to her son is impressive, although she is so single-minded and driven that she comes across as a bit crazy at times. For most families, life has to go on apart from autism, and that doesn't really seem to be the case with this family. Plus, I always worry a little bit about case studies like this one that seem to present miracle cures -- even ones that come as a result of lots of hard work. With true autism, there is no miracle cure and no magic button that will unlock the child and make everything else fall into place. So, while there is value in the author's techniques for helping her son and other children who are highly visual and not so verbal, I think this book should be read with caution.

[Les · Rating 4 out of 5]

Social and communication disorders fascinate me. This is the story of a child diagnosed as autistic, but had a different disorder all-together, and his remarkable journey to functioning in society as well as anybody. A little clinical at times, but good reading for the layperson if this sort of thing catches your attention.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can I say? I bring my work home with me, literally. It makes me wonder how much more I could be doing than I already am for my kiddos.