Writing in the New York Times, Annie Lubliner Lehmann says she and her husband spent decades pursuing therapies and treatments for their son with autism. The outcome: minimal results, frustration, and exhaustion.

They decided to back off and let Jonah approach the world in his own way. An excerpt:

Jonah turned 25 last fall, and when I look at him I can’t help wondering if the past years weren’t some heaven-directed scheme meant to humble us and teach us the value of acceptance. Understanding that we couldn’t change him had changed us.

His future, for the most part, is set — in a nearby home with a caring staff — and I am grateful that he has some of the same things I want for my other two children: love, safety, physical comfort and access to favorite activities.

He remains a man of very few words. But though it took us years, we have finally learned that there was something to hear in his silence.

Annie Lubliner Lehmann is the author of “The Accidental Teacher: Life Lessons From My Silent Son.”

(New York Times photo)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 8th, 2009 at 8:36 am and is filed under autism, families, parents, personal stories, politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.