The Boy Who Loved Windows: Opening the Heart and Mind of a Child Threatened with Autism

by Patricia Stacey

Book Overview

Discover the uplifting true story of a family's journey to better understand their son with autism--and learn how a combination of science and loving persistence changed all of their lives.

In 1997, writer Patricia Stacey and her husband Cliff learned that their six-month-old son Walker might never walk or talk, or even hear or see. Unwilling to accept this grim prediction, they embarked on a five-year odyssey that took them into...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 073820966X
• ISBN13: 9780738209661
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books
• Length: 300 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

The book changed our lives.

When we were frustrated with the lack of fun during the ABA sessions, and my child had a very hard time with them, I read this book where Mrs. Stacey share her experience with a much more flexible model of therapy for her son, this model worked for my child and he started to learn. I am from Brazil and I was no able to find a floortime therapist. I contacted Mrs.Stacey and she OFFERED to help me guiding me WITHOUT charging a dollar! Then we found a therapsi but I must say not only the book is wonderful but Mrs Stacey is a wonderful woman with a big heart, taking her time to answer emails from someone she does not know and offering free help! I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Simone.

Book Deserves Ten Stars!!!

The Boy Who Loved Windows engages the reader at every level - as a personal memoir, a family chronicle, a medical narrative, and a philosophical meditation. Like a master photographer, Patricia Stacey moves confidently among these genres, zooming in until we feel ourselves inhabiting the same space as Walker and his family, then pulling back to give a panoramic view of the medical research and philosophical questions underpinning the diagnosis and treatment of autism. Stacey's "voice" rings with such clarity, curiosity and compassion that it brings to mind the wonderful work of Oliver Sacks, the renown neurologist, professor, and author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and An Anthropologist on Mars. Like Sacks, Stacey honors what is unique to each individual while extracting what is universal about all of us. By so vividly imagining herself inside Walker's autistic body and mind, she enlarges our understanding of what being human is essentially about. No matter what disease, disorder, defect or disability may befall us - early in life or later on - we all strive for greater self-awareness even as we reach out to the world around us. If you approach this book with an expansive mind, it will reward you with fresh insights and intuitive leaps. In my case, I was struck by the author's description of Greenspan's presentation of floor time as a "philosophy of moments." This is the essence of the practice of mindfulness - being open to an awareness of the moment. It occurred to me that floor time is to a child with autism spectrum disorder what the practice of mindfulness is to an adult with an acutely sensitive nervous system. Whether child or adult, many individuals have nervous systems that often cause them to feel overwhelmed by the world and stymied on their path to self-discovery. For them, the practice of mindfulness leads to a relaxed state of attentiveness to both the inner world of thoughts and feelings and the outer world of actions and perceptions. Like floor time, mindful engagement not only increases connection with words and objects, but also increases connection with people. Along with a focus on moments, the themes of joyful learning and empathy building are prominent in both floor time and mindfulness. Stacey puts it beautifully when she writes that floor time is "about two things, about building tolerance and about building humanity."I strongly recommend this book to anyone who has come to understand him/herself (or a family member) as having a highly sensitive nervous system. Whether you've come to this realization through an experience with autism spectrum disorder, developmental language disorder (like dyslexia), attention deficit disorder, or affective spectrum disorder (like migraine, obsessive-compulsive or panic disorder), this book will enlarge your understanding of that experience. As Stacey observes near the end of the book, our culture has long neglected the development of highly individualized ne

An excellent book for anyone who has loved a child

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.

The Boy Who Loved Windows

The Boy Who Loved Windows: Opening the Heart and Mind of a Child Threatened With Autism by Patricia Stacey is a wonderfully rich, poignant book that is compelling and beautifully written. As a clinician working with children and families on the autistic spectrum I have come to know and work with many children and their families. This book gives a clear picture describing the components that make up the autism spectrum and gives hope to all of those who are diagnosed.Ms. Stacey describes what happened with her own son and family in beautiful prose while giving clear, practical information on how to help and work with all children. We need to follow their lead, encourage them to be engaged with us and help them to grow using the developmental model. The method that Ms. Stacey chose to use with her son (Developmental, Individual Difference, Relationship Based) helped him to engage, attend and enjoy relationships and the world around him. I find that this book is many things. It is mostly about possibility for change and growth. When a child is diagnosed with having an autism spectrum disorder it affects the whole family system. The hopelessness and despair that parents feel upon having their fears confirmed can be, and often is devastating. In many areas of the country older intervention methods are relied upon and people are not aware that newer methodologies exist-let alone work. Ms. Stacey gives her readers many gifts in her book. She gives clear information on Sensory Integration, Autism Spectrum Disorders, courage and hope. This book is a must read for parents, family, friends and professionals. Whether you know someone on the spectrum or not, you will gain a new level of understanding on what it is like to live the life of a parent of a child with autism, what a child with autism means to the family and community and that there are wonderful new interventions available to help the child (or adult) to change and grow in a positive way. Ms. Stacey's book is not about shunning the autism community or those on the autism spectrum. Stanley Greenspan, M.D., puts it beautifully when he talks about working with those with communication and learning disorders-"redefining potential". It is about giving hope and help and that there is potential for each child on the spectrum-and that each of us can do better, can climb the developmental ladder and be more comfortable within ourselves, in the world and with one another. This is the message that comes through in the book and it is an amazing gift to readers.

A Testament to the Power of Love and Language

"Absolute attention is prayer," Simone Weil once said. Patricia Stacey and her husband, Cliff, gave absolute attention to their little boy, Walker, who showed early signs of autism, and the results, narrated in this beautifully written memoir, are breathtaking. As an infant, Walker did not smile, laugh, or even cry, now he talks, reads, plays soccer, and attends school.But THE BOY WHO LOVED WINDOWS is not only about about the power of parental devotion, it's also about the magic of language, about what happens when a writer takes her calling seriously and pays absolute attention to words. Patricia Stacey has made a lasting contribution--not only to psychology and child development but also to autobiography and memoir. THE BOY WHO LOVED WINDOWS is a classic and deserves every major writing award it's sure to receive.