Jul 18 2008
Living with Autism: A Real Simple Magazine Article
Mothman statue image from Point Pleasant River Museum’s gallery. Mothman is one of Isaac Law’s favorite monsters.
The August issue of Real Simple magazine is running an article entitled “Living with Autism.” It’s a profile piece on the Law family of Baltimore. Isaac Law is a fifteen years old autistic boy with a passion for monsters, or “fantastical creatures” as he calls them.
What made this article stand out from dozens of others that I’ve read this week was its honest, yet positive depiction of autism. Kiely, Isaac’s mom, readily tells about how she cried every day, grieving for her son, after his initial diagnosis. But she saw, over time, that therapy has helped him a great deal. Isaac is now in regular classes, two grade levels behind (still - huge kudos to Isaac!), with a one-to-one aide. He’s got dreams for his future that include living independently and a career, possibly in cryptozoology or futurology or science-fiction writing.
The Laws, in conjunction with the Kennedy Krieger Institute began IAN - the Interactive Autism Network. This group matches families with researchers in a host of different studies, and offers information and support to families.
Kiely says, “I look back at the time before his diagnosis and think how self centered my life was. Then when I knew what was wrong, I grieved for my own dreams. But in some ways what Isaac and I have now is more beautiful than what I ever imagined.”
Sounds to me like her son has helped her to grow just as much as she’s helped him. That’s pretty awesome.
Thanks for the heads up on this article. I enjoy Real Simple magazine and I’m glad to hear they did a piece like this. I will put at the top of my nightstand stack o’ magazines.