Gravity Pulls You In: Anthology About Parenting Kids on the Autism Spectrum

I had the privilege of contributing an essay to Kyra Anderson and Vicki Forman's fabulous new book Gravity Pulls You In: Perspectives on Parenting Children on the Autism.

My essay -- As Great as Trees -- describes the painful time period when my youngest son was asked to leave his school because the school wasn't able to deal with his behavior. (This was right before he was diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome.)

Here's a short excerpt which describes his last day at his old school:

Ian says goodbye to his classmates on a Wednesday afternoon,
three weeks into fifth grade. His classmates present him
with a piece of goodbye cake. Conveniently, his birthday has fallen
the day before, so they are able to save him a piece of the birthday
cake they ended up eating without him—the downside of being suspended
from school on your very own birthday. When the decision
to suspend him evolves into a request (non-negotiable) that we withdraw
him, the birthday cake morphs into goodbye cake to go.       
(...continued)

If you'd like to get a sense of what the book is all about, you may want to read the other excerpts available on the book's website as well as the book's foreword (written by John Elder Robison, author of Look Me in the Eye).

I absolutely love contributing to anthologies. It's exciting to be part of a community of writers all celebrating the birth of the very same "baby." And what a baby you've given the ASD families of the world, Kyra and Vicki.

You should be very proud.

Gravity Pulls You In by Kyra Anderson and Vicki Forman. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House, 2010. Paperback, $19.95. 33 essays and poems.

Related:

All posts on this blog that relate to Autism Spectrum Disorders

More Than a Mom.Net: A website created by Amy Baskin and Heather Fawcett, co-authors of More Than a Mom: Leading a Full and Balanced Life When Your Child Has Special Needs.

Aspergers Society of Ontario: A registered charity that "provides education, resources and support to individuals with AS, their families, educators, medical and mental health professionals, employers, government and the community, to enable individuals with AS to realize their potential as fully contributing members of their community."

Autism Ontario: A charitable organization that promotes "acceptance and opportunities for all individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders."

Comments

[kyra]

Thank you for mentioning the book, Ann and MANY thanks to you for your beautiful contribution!

xx

[Vicki Forman]

Thank you!