a parent's view of his child with autism

i'm finishing up autism's false prophets by paul offit. it focuses mainly on the vaccine-autism controversy, pointing out the lack of good science proving a link between vaccines and autism and the ways in which the perseveration on this issue has distracted from the more important task of figuring out how to improve the lives of people affected by autism.

in the final chapter he was a great quotation by roy grinker, taken from his book unstrange minds (my review of this excellent book here). he says, in reference to his daughter:

Isabel has taught me that the unexpected, even the beautiful, can emerge from the undesirable, like a lotus growing out of the mud, its beauty and purity unsullied by its origin. The beauty can be found in a single person, inside of whom there is something - no, not something 'normal,' but a brilliant light or an inner truth struggling to blossom.

So, when people pity me for my daughter, I don't understand the sentiment. I work hard for Isabel, but I don't regret it or feel sorry for myself. At the end of the day when I tuck her in, she's not a case of autism, or even a child with social deficits and language delays. She's simply my daughter. My job is to clear the land for whatever growth is to come, even if, sometimes, no one else believes it will happen.

what a beautiful picture of beauty out of brokenness. both of these books are worth reading if you're interesting in understanding autism.