Carly's Voice: Breaking Through Autism

This was an amazing book and one I really relate to having a sister with autism myself. I love reading about Carly journey and learning a her challenges and how she overcame them. The Book really makes me think about my sister and makes me wander what is she thinking? What would she want to tell us? How does she feel day to day? Why does she do the things she does? As she is also non-verbal like Carly. I have never given up on my sister with anything and this book gives me more hope that one day could understand my sister and that we could understand each other as sisters.

I was hoping to read more of Carly's account of her life prior to spelling and her skill development after learning spelling. I was disappointed that most of the book is her father's writing and her father's narrative.

I was shocked to read Carly's father's account of leaving Carly out of vacations, not because I was surprised that a parent would do that, but because he wrote about it as if he didn't regret it. In later chapters, he makes it clear that he does regret such choices, but I wish he hadn't presented those choices as if they were in accordance with being a loving parent. It's not loving to think of your child as an inconvenience, ever. No matter the disability, your disabled child's disability is much more difficult for them than for you. Period. I had to skip several of the chapters that took place prior to Carly's learning to spell because I couldn't stomach her father's seeming lack of empathy in those chapters. (And neurotypicals say we autistic people lack empathy...)

I gave this book three stars because the chapters taking place after Carly's learning to spell do demonstrate her father's empathy, and his remorse for having thought of her as a burden.

I look forward to when Carly Fleischmann's own book, which she writes about in the epilogue, is released.