Book Review – Laughter and Tears: A Family’s Journey to Understanding the Autism Spectrum

LAUGHTER AND TEARS: A FAMILY’S JOURNEY TO UNDERSTANDING
THE AUTISM SPECTRUM
Ann Hewetson, Jessica Kingsley
ISBN 1843103311, £12.95

STAR RATING: 5/5

Ann Hewetson (a sometime research scientist and teacher as well as
dedicated mother) combines long experience, acute observation and
academic study in this profound and moving account of her son
Mark’s transition from “early infantile autism” to a form of
Asperger’s syndrome in adulthood, writes Michael
Fitzpatrick.

The author surveys autism’s “bleak and troubled past” from the
1970s, when she and her husband had to endure “parent-blaming”
theories of autism, up to the present when “as a result of progress
in the fields of genetic and brain research, the future for autism
looks bright”.

Hewetson writes with wisdom gained from experience on the danger
for parents of “chasing rainbows down endless cul-de-sacs”. She
warns against implausible theories (such as the alleged MMR
vaccine-autism link) and questionable treatments, noting how these
“slow down progress, divert time and resources from solid,
scientifically structured, research” as well as imposing
“unnecessary burdens on both families and clinicians”.

Her concluding appreciation of Mark’s distinctively autistic
qualities of honesty, simplicity and integrity will strike a chord
with parents and professionals alike.

Michael Fitzpatrick is a GP in London and has an autistic
son