We Walk: Life with Severe Autism (The Culture and Politics of Health Care Work)

In this collection of beautiful and raw essays, Amy S. F. Lutz writes openly about her experience―the positive and the negative―as a mother of a now twenty-one-year-old son with severe autism. Lutz's human emotion drives through each page and challenges commonly held ideas that define autism either as a disease or as neurodiversity. We Walk is inspired by her own questions: What is the place of intellectually and developmentally disabled people in society? What responsibilities do we, as citizens and human beings, have to one another? Who should decide for those who cannot decide for themselves? What is the meaning of religion to someone with no abstract language? Exploring these questions, We Walk directly―and humanly―examines social issues such as inclusion, religion, therapeutics, and friendship through the lens of severe autism. In a world where public perception of autism is largely shaped by the "quirky geniuses" featured on television shows like The Big Bang Theory and The Good Doctor , We Walk demands that we center our debates about this disorder on those who are most affected by its impacts. In this collection of essays, the author writes openly about her experience as a mother of a now twenty-one-year-old son with severe autism. The author's human emotion drives through each page and challenges commonly held ideas that define autism either as a disease or as neurodiversity. The book is inspired by the author's own questions: What is the place of intellectually and developmentally disabled people in society? What responsibilities do we, as citizens and human beings, have to one another? Who should decide for those who cannot decide for themselves? What is the meaning of religion to someone with no abstract language? Exploring these questions, the book examines social issues such as inclusion, religion, therapeutics, and friendship through the lens of severe autism. In a world where public perception of autism is largely shaped by the “quirky geniuses” featured on television shows like The Big Bang Theory and The Good Doctor, this book demands that we center our debates about this disorder on those who are most affected by its impacts. In this collection of essays, the author writes openly about her experience as a mother of a now 21 year old son with severe autism. The author's human emotion drives through each page and challenges commonly held ideas that define autism either as a disease or as neurodiversity. The book is inspired by the author's own questions: What is the place of intellectually and developmentally disabled people in society? What responsibilities do we, as citizens and human beings, have to one another? Who should decide for those who cannot decide for themselves? What is the meaning of religion to someone with no abstract language? Exploring these questions, the book examines social issues such as inclusion, religion, therapeutics, and friendship through the lens of severe autism "We Walk combines personal narrative, interviews, and research to examine social issues like inclusion, religion, therapeutics, and friendship through the lens of severe autism"-- Provided by publisher