'When I grow up I want to be a screwdriver!' A small boy spins down the sidewalk as his mother follows him with her eyes and heart. Nicky has autism. Winner of the ASA Outstanding Literary Work of the Year Award, ""Just This Side of Normal"" is a powerful story of a parent's search for understanding in a world that sometimes makes no sense. This book was one of the first autobiographies written by a parent of a child with autism and it continues to inspire both parents and professionals in the autism community.
"I read, loved it, and wept all the way. Here you have a heart-wrenching account of autism and how a parent can lead her child through that dark tunnel and into a much sunnier world. It may still be spotted with clouds and thunderstorms, but it shows what can be done."
Marguerite Kelly, Author of "The Mother's Almanac "and syndicated columnist
"In this collection of vignettes about raising a child with autism, Elizabeth King Gerlach writes with tenderness, humor, grace, honesty, and a calm good sense. She is able to convey the confusions, distress, and yearnings of a parent deeply worried about her son, but also the moments of sheer joyfulness at watching this engagingly 'different' child grow and learn."
Jane Taylor McDonnell, Author of "News from the Border
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"Elizabeth King Gerlach's book tells it like it is. Her story has it all--happy, sad, serious, funny--and all at the same time. It's must reading for parents and important reading for professionals."
Stephen Edelson, PhD, Director of The Center for the Study of Autism
"Elizabeth King Gerlach's book tells it like it is. Her story has it all--happy, sad, serious, funny--and all at the same time. It's must reading for parents and important reading for professionals."
Stephen Edelson, PhD, Director of The Center for the Study of Autism
"I read, loved it, and wept all the way. Here you have a heart-wrenching account of autism and how a parent can lead her child through that dark tunnel and into a much sunnier world. It may still be spotted with clouds and thunderstorms, but it shows what can be done."
Marguerite Kelly, Author of The Mother's Almanac and syndicated columnist