A Slant of Sun

For Beth Kepharts son the diagnosis was pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specifieda broad spectrum of difficulties including autistic features. As the author and her husband discover all that label really means is that their son Jeremy is different in a million wonderful ways and also different in ways that need our help. In intimate incandescent prose Kephart shares the painful and inspiring experience of loving a child whose special needs bring tremendous frustration and incalculable rewards. What in the end are you fighting for: Normal? Kephart asks. Is normal possible? Can it be defined? . . . And is normal superior to what the child inherently is to what he aspires to fights to become every second of his day? With the help of passionate parental involvement and the kindness of a few open hearts Jeremy slowly emerges from a world of obsessive play rituals atypical language constructions endless pacing and lonely frustrations. Triumphantly he begins to engage others describe his thoughts and passions build essential friendships. Ultimately this is a story of the shallowness of medical labels compared to a child''s courage and a mother''s love of which Kephart writes Nothing erodes it. It is not sand on a beach. It is the nuclear heart of thingshard as the rock of this earth.