Rating: 
Summary: illuminating journey
Review: This is a wonderful book of one mother's struggle to deal with a child with Asperger Syndrome, and the strain it can place on day-to-day life. There are also some fascinating anecdotes which reveal that some famous individuals may have had Asperger's-- Einstein, Wittgenstein, Andy Warhol, Andy Kaufman. The book does have some minor faults, though: the writing is a bit confused in a few spots, forcing me to read carefully to try to figure out what exactly was going on, and she introduces terms without fully explaining them ("perseverating", for example). The book, as wonderful as it is, it not as complete a guide for those looking for answers as I would have hoped. For that, I recommend the excellent HITCHHIKING THROUGH ASPERGER SYNDROME by Lisa Pyles.
Rating: 
Summary: A truly extraordinary book!
Review: This is an extraordinary, rare and unique book about an autistic child. The thing that makes it this way, is his mother's pure and loving acceptance of him, just the way he is. His mother's creative solutions to make living with him the best it can be. Everyone having anything to do with an autistic child, should read it, if only for the different point of view. The view that every child has value, and there is something to be said for treasuring him just for who he is.
Elijah is a fascinating child. He has been able to absorb much comprehension about the world, and his own disability, and how to cope, through his endless questioning of his mother, and her amazingly patient, honest, and encouraging replies. He will be an adult with a tremendous advantage over other children like him, for having had Valerie Paradiz for a mother.
Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: Valerie Paradiz has written a very powerful account of her struggle to help her son develop his unique and creative capabilities, to find and build a positive sense of self within the culture of high functioning autism. This book pushes all kinds of envelops, especially our own and our sense of what "normal" perception/congition/experience is... Gripping, edge-of-the-seat writing. Loved it and have shared with many friends.
Rating:
Summary: A narrative gem and a landmark in autism literature
Review: Valerie Paradiz's book Elijah's Cup is a real gem ' a must-read. It is heartfelt, lyrical in its imagery, and engaging in its narrative style. But beyond that, it is a milestone in the history of autism literature. It is a parent's narrative ' but it is no ordinary parent's narrative. More than any book before it in its genre, it succeeds in understanding and communicating the perspectives of those of us who, like Valerie's son Elijah, are on the autism spectrum.Valerie instinctively sought out and took seriously the input of adults on the spectrum in the course of trying to figure out how best to be a parent to Elijah. She instinctively sought the meaning and purpose in autistic behavior ' in reaction to sensory stimuli, in learning through repetition and pattern-making, in a different yet no less valid set of aesthetic sensibilities. She refused to accept the cavalierness with which the medical model of autism dismisses the relevance and meaning of autistic behavior, sensory preferences, and cognitive style, and instead correctly understood them as the ways in which we attempt to make sense of the world and communicate with it. She refused to accept as adequate the diagnostic definitions of autism that reduce us to a laundry list of negatively stated traits. She understood that Elijah, and the rest of us, are more than that. This is what we adults on the spectrum have been trying to tell the world ourselves for the past decade and more. It is downright radical stuff to be coming from a parent. Yet it is especially important that it is coming from a parent, and from a gifted and lyrical writer to boot. By speaking as a parent, Valerie reaches and engages potential non-autistic allies ' family members, professionals, friends ' in ways in which even the most brilliant writing by adults on the spectrum who are not themselves parents, might not. Valerie understood the importance of finding and connecting Elijah and herself with autistic peers, mentors, and role models. Her search for the latter, coupled with her dissatisfaction with the devaluing descriptions of autism in the literature, led her to study the history of autism and the lives of famous individuals who might have been on the spectrum. She traces the history of autism through its decades of mischaracterization by the psychotherapeutic field. She chronicles the misogyny and victimization of parents, particularly mothers, who were blamed by practitioners as the cause of their children's autism. That much, her inquiry has in common with others' histories of autism. But with her gifted eye, she goes further: she makes palpable a keen sense of the damage that blame and relentless cause-seeking can do, the wedge it drives into the hearts of marriages, parent-child relationships, and relationships between nuclear family and relatives and friends. She makes her quest one of moving beyond blame and cause-seeking, to concern and attention to the development and vitality of the people involved, and to their connectedness with self, peers, and mentors ' however different that development and connectedness with others might turn out to be. She refuses to believe that this is in any way less important for people with that diagnostic laundry list of autistic symptoms ' and she is profoundly right. She remains steadfastly open to the legitimacy of the different ways in which these basic human needs are articulated and met by those of us on the spectrum. And that is what is so important about this book, why it is such a milestone.
Rating:
Summary: Must-read - a landmark in the literature on autism
Review: Valerie Paradiz's book Elijah's Cup is a real gem - a must-read. It is heartfelt, lyrical in its imagery, and engaging in its narrative style. But beyond that, it is a milestone in the history of autism literature. It is a parent's narrative - but it is no ordinary parent's narrative. More than any book before it in its genre, it succeeds in understanding and communicating the perspectives of those of us who, like Valerie's son Elijah, are on the autism spectrum. Valerie instinctively sought out and took seriously the input of adults on the spectrum in the course of trying to figure out how best to be a parent to Elijah. She instinctively sought the meaning and purpose in autistic behavior - in reaction to sensory stimuli, in learning through repetition and pattern-making, in a different yet no less valid set of aesthetic sensibilities. She refused to accept the cavalierness with which the medical model of autism dismisses the relevance and meaning of autistic behavior, sensory preferences, and cognitive style, and instead correctly understood them as the ways in which we attempt to make sense of the world and communicate with it. She refused to accept as adequate the diagnostic definitions of autism that reduce us to a laundry list of negatively stated traits. She understood that Elijah, and the rest of us, are more than that. This is what we adults on the spectrum have been trying to tell the world ourselves for the past decade and more. It is downright radical stuff to be coming from a parent. Yet it is especially important that it is coming from a parent, and from a gifted and lyrical writer to boot. By speaking as a parent, Valerie reaches and engages potential non-autistic allies - family members, professionals, friends - in ways in which even the most brilliant writing by adults on the spectrum who are not themselves parents, might not. Valerie understood the importance of finding and connecting Elijah and herself with autistic peers, mentors, and role models. Her search for the latter, coupled with her dissatisfaction with the devaluing descriptions of autism in the literature, led her to study the history of autism and the lives of famous individuals who might have been on the spectrum. She traces the history of autism through its decades of mischaracterization by the psychotherapeutic field. She chronicles the misogyny and victimization of parents, particularly mothers, who were blamed by practitioners as the cause of their children's autism. That much, her inquiry has in common with others' histories of autism. But with her gifted eye, she goes further: she makes palpable a keen sense of the damage that blame and relentless cause-seeking can do, the wedge it drives into the hearts of marriages, parent-child relationships, and relationships between nuclear family and relatives and friends. She makes her quest one of moving beyond blame and cause-seeking, to concern and attention to the development and vitality of the people involved, and to their connectedness with self, peers, and mentors - however different that development and connectedness with others might turn out to be. She refuses to believe that this is in any way less important for people with that diagnostic laundry list of autistic symptoms - and she is profoundly right. She remains steadfastly open to the legitimacy of the different ways in which these basic human needs are articulated and met by those of us on the spectrum. And that is what is so important about this book, why it is such a milestone. Phil Schwarz is the vice-president of the Asperger's Association of New England. He is a parent of an autistic child, and has a mild variant of AS himself.
Rating:
Summary: Must-read - a landmark in the literature on autism
Review: Valerie Paradiz's book Elijah's Cup is a real gem - a must-read. It is heartfelt, lyrical in its imagery, and engaging in its narrative style. But beyond that, it is a milestone in the history of autism literature. It is a parent's narrative - but it is no ordinary parent's narrative. More than any book before it in its genre, it succeeds in understanding and communicating the perspectives of those of us who, like Valerie's son Elijah, are on the autism spectrum. Valerie instinctively sought out and took seriously the input of adults on the spectrum in the course of trying to figure out how best to be a parent to Elijah. She instinctively sought the meaning and purpose in autistic behavior - in reaction to sensory stimuli, in learning through repetition and pattern-making, in a different yet no less valid set of aesthetic sensibilities. She refused to accept the cavalierness with which the medical model of autism dismisses the relevance and meaning of autistic behavior, sensory preferences, and cognitive style, and instead correctly understood them as the ways in which we attempt to make sense of the world and communicate with it. She refused to accept as adequate the diagnostic definitions of autism that reduce us to a laundry list of negatively stated traits. She understood that Elijah, and the rest of us, are more than that. This is what we adults on the spectrum have been trying to tell the world ourselves for the past decade and more. It is downright radical stuff to be coming from a parent. Yet it is especially important that it is coming from a parent, and from a gifted and lyrical writer to boot. By speaking as a parent, Valerie reaches and engages potential non-autistic allies - family members, professionals, friends - in ways in which even the most brilliant writing by adults on the spectrum who are not themselves parents, might not. Valerie understood the importance of finding and connecting Elijah and herself with autistic peers, mentors, and role models. Her search for the latter, coupled with her dissatisfaction with the devaluing descriptions of autism in the literature, led her to study the history of autism and the lives of famous individuals who might have been on the spectrum. She traces the history of autism through its decades of mischaracterization by the psychotherapeutic field. She chronicles the misogyny and victimization of parents, particularly mothers, who were blamed by practitioners as the cause of their children's autism. That much, her inquiry has in common with others' histories of autism. But with her gifted eye, she goes further: she makes palpable a keen sense of the damage that blame and relentless cause-seeking can do, the wedge it drives into the hearts of marriages, parent-child relationships, and relationships between nuclear family and relatives and friends. She makes her quest one of moving beyond blame and cause-seeking, to concern and attention to the development and vitality of the people involved, and to their connectedness with self, peers, and mentors - however different that development and connectedness with others might turn out to be. She refuses to believe that this is in any way less important for people with that diagnostic laundry list of autistic symptoms - and she is profoundly right. She remains steadfastly open to the legitimacy of the different ways in which these basic human needs are articulated and met by those of us on the spectrum. And that is what is so important about this book, why it is such a milestone. Phil Schwarz is the vice-president of the Asperger's Association of New England. He is a parent of an autistic child, and has a mild variant of AS himself.
Rating:
Summary: A narrative gem and a landmark in autism literature
Review: Valerie Paradiz�s book Elijah�s Cup is a real gem � a must-read. It is heartfelt, lyrical in its imagery, and engaging in its narrative style. But beyond that, it is a milestone in the history of autism literature. It is a parent�s narrative � but it is no ordinary parent�s narrative. More than any book before it in its genre, it succeeds in understanding and communicating the perspectives of those of us who, like Valerie�s son Elijah, are on the autism spectrum. Valerie instinctively sought out and took seriously the input of adults on the spectrum in the course of trying to figure out how best to be a parent to Elijah. She instinctively sought the meaning and purpose in autistic behavior � in reaction to sensory stimuli, in learning through repetition and pattern-making, in a different yet no less valid set of aesthetic sensibilities. She refused to accept the cavalierness with which the medical model of autism dismisses the relevance and meaning of autistic behavior, sensory preferences, and cognitive style, and instead correctly understood them as the ways in which we attempt to make sense of the world and communicate with it. She refused to accept as adequate the diagnostic definitions of autism that reduce us to a laundry list of negatively stated traits. She understood that Elijah, and the rest of us, are more than that. This is what we adults on the spectrum have been trying to tell the world ourselves for the past decade and more. It is downright radical stuff to be coming from a parent. Yet it is especially important that it is coming from a parent, and from a gifted and lyrical writer to boot. By speaking as a parent, Valerie reaches and engages potential non-autistic allies � family members, professionals, friends � in ways in which even the most brilliant writing by adults on the spectrum who are not themselves parents, might not. Valerie understood the importance of finding and connecting Elijah and herself with autistic peers, mentors, and role models. Her search for the latter, coupled with her dissatisfaction with the devaluing descriptions of autism in the literature, led her to study the history of autism and the lives of famous individuals who might have been on the spectrum. She traces the history of autism through its decades of mischaracterization by the psychotherapeutic field. She chronicles the misogyny and victimization of parents, particularly mothers, who were blamed by practitioners as the cause of their children�s autism. That much, her inquiry has in common with others� histories of autism. But with her gifted eye, she goes further: she makes palpable a keen sense of the damage that blame and relentless cause-seeking can do, the wedge it drives into the hearts of marriages, parent-child relationships, and relationships between nuclear family and relatives and friends. She makes her quest one of moving beyond blame and cause-seeking, to concern and attention to the development and vitality of the people involved, and to their connectedness with self, peers, and mentors � however different that development and connectedness with others might turn out to be. She refuses to believe that this is in any way less important for people with that diagnostic laundry list of autistic symptoms � and she is profoundly right. She remains steadfastly open to the legitimacy of the different ways in which these basic human needs are articulated and met by those of us on the spectrum. And that is what is so important about this book, why it is such a milestone.
Rating:
Summary: BUY THIS TREASURE
Review: What can one say about a book written a parent about her child with Asperger Syndrome that isn't like the rest? From the beginning, the reader can tell that he or she has a real gem. The writer, Valerie Paradiz, describes her son, Elijah's early years, including the many seizures he had and the odyssey of doctors and medications. After a few years, the seizures abate, but he is found to have Asperger Syndrome by his babysitter, Sharron Lorree, who has the disorder, also. Sharron becomes a dedicated friend and takes to Elijah like a duck takes to water. In this nifty little book, Paradiz takes an abrupt right turn AWAY from the doom and gloom and the quest for a cure that so many other parent stories about their children focus on. Instead, the author takes her son to Autreat, a retreat in New York State for people with autism and the people who support them. Run by Jim Sinclair, a major figure in the self-advocacy movement and a proponent of "autistic culture, " the principle of allowing people with autism to be themselves and to accommodate their needs by what has been derisively called "self-stim," where in fact, it is a way to meet one's sensory needs, to communicate or to better adapt to one's environment, or all of these. While at Autreat and after, Paradiz takes on an increasingly positive attitude toward her son's autism, focusing on the STRENGTHS, instead of deficits. In addition, the author gives the reader insights into the relationship between her and her estranged husband and how they are able to reconcile their relationship. Throughout the books, the author weaves in descriptions of famous people who probably were on the Autism Spectrum, including Einstein and Andy Warhol, showing the reader how autism and Asperger Syndrome can actually HELP a person to make stunning discoveries and accomplishments that move society forward. The author writes like a poet a she deftly weaves the descriptions of these famous people in with descriptions of life with Elijah and how he relates to the world. One can't help but love him; he is a sweet, caring little boy, who seems to really enjoy life. Not only is Elijah's Cup beautifully written it is easy to read and understand, a real boon for busy parents who don't have the time or inclination to slog through a ponderous jargon-filled book. Another plus is that treatments are not mention. Instead, the author finds ways to accommodate her son's needs so that he can thrive in the world and enjoy life on his own terms. Once cannot say enough about this treasure. I want to shout from the rooftops BUY THIS BOOK!! It is a must-have for every library and school in the land.
Rating:
Summary: BUY THIS TREASURE
Review: What can one say about a book written a parent about her child with Asperger Syndrome that isn't like the rest? From the beginning, the reader can tell that he or she has a real gem. The writer, Valerie Paradiz, describes her son, Elijah's early years, including the many seizures he had and the odyssey of doctors and medications. After a few years, the seizures abate, but he is found to have Asperger Syndrome by his babysitter, Sharron Lorree, who has the disorder, also. Sharron becomes a dedicated friend and takes to Elijah like a duck takes to water. In this nifty little book, Paradiz takes an abrupt right turn AWAY from the doom and gloom and the quest for a cure that so many other parent stories about their children focus on. Instead, the author takes her son to Autreat, a retreat in New York State for people with autism and the people who support them. Run by Jim Sinclair, a major figure in the self-advocacy movement and a proponent of "autistic culture, " the principle of allowing people with autism to be themselves and to accommodate their needs by what has been derisively called "self-stim," where in fact, it is a way to meet one's sensory needs, to communicate or to better adapt to one's environment, or all of these. While at Autreat and after, Paradiz takes on an increasingly positive attitude toward her son's autism, focusing on the STRENGTHS, instead of deficits. In addition, the author gives the reader insights into the relationship between her and her estranged husband and how they are able to reconcile their relationship. Throughout the books, the author weaves in descriptions of famous people who probably were on the Autism Spectrum, including Einstein and Andy Warhol, showing the reader how autism and Asperger Syndrome can actually HELP a person to make stunning discoveries and accomplishments that move society forward. The author writes like a poet a she deftly weaves the descriptions of these famous people in with descriptions of life with Elijah and how he relates to the world. One can't help but love him; he is a sweet, caring little boy, who seems to really enjoy life. Not only is Elijah's Cup beautifully written it is easy to read and understand, a real boon for busy parents who don't have the time or inclination to slog through a ponderous jargon-filled book. Another plus is that treatments are not mention. Instead, the author finds ways to accommodate her son's needs so that he can thrive in the world and enjoy life on his own terms. Once cannot say enough about this treasure. I want to shout from the rooftops BUY THIS BOOK!! It is a must-have for every library and school in the land.
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