Autism - The Invisible Cord: A Siblings Diary

Last week, I wrote an essay challenging Time Magazine’s
choice of a title for its story on siblings of kids with autism.  I believed calling the siblings “autism’s
invisible victims” was inappropriate and offensive.




The disgust I felt over the title choice overshadowed the
article itself, which made many good points if one could get past the
demonization and victimization.




The author of the story – a psychologist named Barbara Cain
– had previously written a book called Autism – The Invisible Cord: A Sibling’sDiary.  I decided to download her book
and see how she described life as an autism sibling.  I wondered what I would find.




I read the book in an hour, and all I can say is, what a
delight!  It’s a sweet and gentle account
of Jenny and her life with Ezra, her autistic brother.  There’s not a trace of victimization in the
book and indeed I recommend it highly to anyone who has a sibling living with
autism in their life.




Barbara’s story – told in the form of short diary entries –
really shows what is feels like to grow up with a brother who’s different – the
joy, the hurt, the desire to protect him and the hope he will grow up and make
a life on his own.




Reading her words, I thought of my own childhood, and that
of my son, who also has autism.   If we’d
had sisters, would they have been like the Jen of the book?  I hope so.




Kudos to Barbara for a wonderful story that any sibling or
family could treasure.




You can order her book here and find her @BarbaraSCain on Twitter
(c) 2007-2011 John Elder Robison