Rating: 
Summary: An excellent book for anyone who has loved a child
Review: This compelling true story traces the intriciate map of a child's troubled journey from birth to five years. Told as a mother's memoir in eloquent and moving language, we learn of Walker's difficults in his earliest months of life. His lack of strength, slow growth, terrible allergies, and, most troubling, his need to draw inward and fix on the light of the windows. So begins one family's odyssey to find help for their son Walker who is threatened with autism. First time author Stacey tacks deftly between medical research in the area of sensory integration disorder and autism, and the emotional terrain of a passionate and loving parent who is also struggling along as wife, sister, daughter, friend. Stacey explores the terrors of worrying that her child may be severly limited in his capabilities, along with the inescapable fatique and fallout from a near obssessive devotion to doing whatever is necessary to save Walker. Because of the urgency of early intervention in these types of sensory integration disorders, the book is highly suspenseful and dramatic. I couldn't put it down. I had to know what did the next doctor think, how was Walker responding to therapy provided by REACH, would he regress or continue with breakthroughs, how was Walker's four-year-old sister Elizabeth coping with the turmoil in her family. When you close this book, you will feel that Pat, Cliff, Elizabeth and Walker have drawn you into their New England home to share their intimate experience of heartbreak and of triumph. You will feel that you've been on the floor doing the "floor time" prescribed by the esteemed Dr. Stanley Greenspan. That you've been left abandonned in the waiting room of yet another surly medical expert. That you've experienced the excitement of Walker's first ride in his stroller in the driveway, of his laughter, first words and eventual development into an active, verbal, loving child. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has loved a child. Walker's dramatic and uplifting story is powerfully recounted with luminous imagery and fierce honesty. Stacey's enormous literary talent is evident from the first page. I look forward to reading more of her work.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent book for anyone who has loved a child
Review: This compelling true story traces the intriciate map of a child's troubled journey from birth to five years. Told as a mother's memoir in eloquent and moving language, we learn of Walker's difficults in his earliest months of life. His lack of strength, slow growth, terrible allergies, and, most troubling, his need to draw inward and fix on the light of the windows. So begins one family's odyssey to find help for their son Walker who is threatened with autism. First time author Stacey tacks deftly between medical research in the area of sensory integration disorder and autism, and the emotional terrain of a passionate and loving parent who is also struggling along as wife, sister, daughter, friend. Stacey explores the terrors of worrying that her child may be severly limited in his capabilities, along with the inescapable fatique and fallout from a near obssessive devotion to doing whatever is necessary to save Walker. Because of the urgency of early intervention in these types of sensory integration disorders, the book is highly suspenseful and dramatic. I couldn't put it down. I had to know what did the next doctor think, how was Walker responding to therapy provided by REACH, would he regress or continue with breakthroughs, how was Walker's four-year-old sister Elizabeth coping with the turmoil in her family. When you close this book, you will feel that Pat, Cliff, Elizabeth and Walker have drawn you into their New England home to share their intimate experience of heartbreak and of triumph. You will feel that you've been on the floor doing the "floor time" prescribed by the esteemed Dr. Stanley Greenspan. That you've been left abandonned in the waiting room of yet another surly medical expert. That you've experienced the excitement of Walker's first ride in his stroller in the driveway, of his laughter, first words and eventual development into an active, verbal, loving child. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has loved a child. Walker's dramatic and uplifting story is powerfully recounted with luminous imagery and fierce honesty. Stacey's enormous literary talent is evident from the first page. I look forward to reading more of her work.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful and insightful story
Review: This is a beautiful and moving story of a mother's love for her child and her desire to help him overcome what appear to be hopeless difficulties. The book shows how the latest remarkable techniques of therapy, called floortime, help the child to grow and improve. Her son makes remarkable progress, an amazing mastery of all the things she was told he would never do. The impact of these events on her, her marriage, and her family is portaryed in a way that pulls you in. When her son Walker takes his first steps, steps she was told he would never take, I almost cheered out loud on the plane where I was reading!
Rating:
Summary: Moving and Gripping!
Review: This story is a powerful and extremely intimate account of a mother's struggle to help her young son overcome a potentially devastating developmental path. I was compelled to keep reading, chapter after chapter. As a mother, I was moved to tears while reading her story, reflecting upon the universal feelings of worry and concern that we all share for our chidren when they are young and vulnerable. As a professional, I was intrigued and captivated by the description of cutting edge treatment for children with special needs. Stacey writes prose that reads like poetry. Her gift is her refreshing honesty as she exposes her life to us, both externally and internally. I strongly recommend this book for parents and professionals alike.
Rating:
Summary: The Boy Who Loved Windows
Review: This was a riveting reading experience! I could not put the book down. Authors often talk about "page-turners." Casey has written the ultimate page-turner, and it's all true. The devotion of Casey, her husband, and their daughter to Walker's healing required an entire life-change. Amazingly hard work and total sacrifice of a "normal" life.
Two small criticisms: I think the reader would have benefitted greatly from a few photographs of Walker and his family. It would have helped to make the events more real in our minds. Also, when I reached the end of this book I was surprised that Casey did not include references to support agencies, websites for further information, toll-free telephone numbers for help, etc. This follow-up information would have been extremely valuable for readers to have at their fingertips.
Rating:
Summary: Many insights for parents of speech delayed or autistic kids
Review: Very interesting to read. I could hardly put this book down, I had to ready through it quickly to see what would happen next....Fast paced, yet full of thoughful insights about the way it really feels to parent a special needs child. I kept reading it thinking, yes...I remember this feeling, I remember a similar experience....even though our kid's profiles are quite different. Explains floortime and the DIR model from a parent perspective. See www.icdl.com for additional background and the "Child with special needs"...Wonderful, wonderful book! Thank you!!!
Rating:
Summary: Favorite book of the year!
Review: What a moving book! Anyone who has children will be able to relate to the anguish Author Stacey experiences when she discovers her son is autistic. Her struggle to connect with him and to help him connect with the world is heroic. The book reads like a great novel. It is suspenseful and the writing is full of grace and wisdom. Once I started it I couldn't put it down.
Rating:
Summary: A story for every mother
Review: While this book deals with symptoms and treatments of autism, I found the book to be a meaningful and important read for those of us with "normal" children. The writer grabs your attention from the first page with her birthing story, one most of us can relate to. I can understand her confusion and fear as she comes to realize that Walker is not like other children or her other child. Her family's journey is long and hard but filled with tremendous love and dedication. Many of the child development theories and ideas are food for thought for all of us who wonder why our child is behaving in a certain way. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
| 
