Let Me Hear Your Voice: A Family's Triumph over Autism

by Catherine Maurice

She was a beautiful doelike child, with an intense, graceful fragility. In her first year, she picked up words, smiled and laughed, and learned to walk. But then Anne-Marie began to turn inward. And when her little girl lost some of the words she had acquired, cried inconsolably, and showed no interest in anyone around her, Catherine Maurice took her to doctors who gave her a devastating diagnosis: autism.
In their desperate struggle to save their daughter, the Maurices plunged into a medical nightmare of false hopes, "miracle cures," and infuriating suggestions that Anne-Marie's autism was somehow their fault. Finally, Anne-Marie was saved by an intensive behavioral therapy.
Let Me Hear Your Voice is a mother's illuminating account of how one family triumphed over autism. It is an absolutely unforgettable book, as beautifully written as it is informative.

Genres: Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Nonfiction, Psychology, Memoir, Parenting, Biography, Autobiography

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

do not recommend.

It is wildly out-of-date and profoundly misrepresents autism, dehumanizes autistic people; this mother describes her own daughter by saying "no longer could we find a self in her" (p. 45). If you can't see autistic people as people, you shouldn't write a book about autism.

To read analysis about this book, try Broderick's "The autism industrial complex: How branding, marketing, and capital investment turned autism into big business" from Myers Education Press, published in 2022.

[Dennis · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s Autism Speaks let’s “cure” autism propaganda. Garbage. Holding therapy? What’s wrong with you as a parent?

[Andria · Rating 1 out of 5]

First off, let me say that I am not a religious person. I'm not even particularly spiritual. I understand that sometimes things happen which can seem inexplicable or "miraculous"- I have never been particularly curious as to the cause.

So when I was about 60 pages through the book and read about the author's religious epiphany and her view that then suddenly everything started falling into place, I was very turned off by the idea of reading the rest of the book. Because suddenly the two-dimensional caricature of a doctor (Dubrovsky) made sense. The woman was depicted as narcissistic, self-serving, and literally only interested in what people thought of her. She also professed (after meeting the author for less than an hour) not to believe in god. So, here was the selfish caricature of the godless villain in the book.

Throughout the book the author (the autistic child's mother) is portrayed as extremely emotional, conflicted, and not knowing the right thing to do. The husband is strong and supportive, and steps in to be "rational" and keep the family firmly on the right path.

I mentioned to my husband that it reminds me of those old cautionary tales of drug use. The "anonymous" diaries by teens who innocently started to experiment with drugs, then flew out of control, then found god and neatly sewed up their recovery. It's like a "Go Ask Alice" for autism.

In the book, the autistic children have access to ABA and speech therapy every single day. They have a mother who stays home with them and a father who is a wealthy investment banker with a large and supportive family. There are many parents of autistic children (Sam and I included) who do not have access to these things. In the book there is no mention of financial hardship, no mention of insurance companies or the headache and fight even now (more than ten years after the book was published) to get ABA recognized as a vital part of recovering autistic children. In many ways it's a "Horatio Alger" fairytale full of platitudes, and it's not pertinent to me at all.

There are great things about the book. At times it's nice to read that someone out there has felt the same anguish and guilt at lashing out. Just like any other illness- no one can truly understand what you are going through like someone else who experiences the same daily struggle. There is a great deal of clinical detail with regard to behavior modification and the early days of ABA. It details effectively how much time these therapies take up, how intensive they are, and how important it is to get documented research statistics on any therapy you endeavor to undertake. It points out in no uncertain terms what Sam and I quickly discovered-- there are so many "professionals" out there who don't care one bit about anything but your money.

So I'm glad I read it, all-in-all, because I have a clearer understanding of ABA and how vital it is in the lives of many autistic children.

[RadiantRoar · Rating 1 out of 5]

I dislike this book, as someone who's autistic. I got it from a used bookstore for free, luckily, but I reached around 40 pages in and the way she describes her autistic child is offensive at best and dehumanizing at worst. She describes her as an "alien" at one point- and I sincerely hope Anne Marie did not read this book. As someone who was diagnosed with Autism at approximately 7 years old I actually had a bit of a self identity crisis reading this until I remembered "no, my mother never treated me any differently like this woman is to her child.". I am eternally thankful that my mom never thought of me any less for having autism. I am glad I have the mother I have.
I have dropped this book at 41 pages because I do not want to have any more identity crises'. I don't even want to return it to the bookstore I obtained it from, because I don't really want any other families to view their children the way Catherine viewed her daughter.

[Books on Autism · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book starts out with the standard story of having a child and then noticing something is different, there are behaviours that are concerning, speech disappears; things that are quite standard in this particular genre of parent biographies. Once the author finds out about Lovaas and ABA she becomes certain that ABA will recover her daughter from autism...along with a considerable amount of Holding Therapy. ABA has enough problems surrounding it without adding Holding Therapy to the mix. For those unaware, Holding Therapy (as outlined in this book, at any rate) is essentially holding your child close to you, despite any and all protests they might have about you doing so, and then telling them how terrible they have made your life. Sometimes in great detail.

Very unpleasant stuff all over.

Of course, and this will not be a shock, Anne-Marie “recovers” from her autism and is rediagnosed as not showing the criteria needed to be diagnosed as autistic. No surprise there. The twist in this tale, however, is that just as Anne-Marie is “recovering”, younger brother Michel is regressing. So we go through the whole thing again, but Michel is even more resistant to ABA than Anne-Marie was and the various “struggles to get him to comply” are documented. Then, of course, he recovers as well.

The whole book is just a documentation of self-pity, very negative attitudes towards autism, and forcing compliance out of two autistic children with the aim of “recovering” them.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I work with children with autism and this book gives an amazing account and look at what families with children on the spectrum to through. The recovery these children make in the book is truly inspirational however it should be noted that not "all" families will experience the same outcomes. Every step a child with autism makes no matter how tiny should be cherished and celebrated.

[Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this may be the best book I've read written by a parent with a child/children with Autism. Because the author is so highly educated, the book is written in technical terms and it was hard to understand parts of it. I just want to warn everyone about this because apart from this, the book has few flaws and I wouldn't want anyone to not finish it and miss out on the value of this important resource. She writes of her struggles with treatment for her children. She researches all avenues of available treatment, hires therapists, and joins in the day to day treatments which she does almost 24/7. She fully acknowledges that not all families can afford to go to the lengths that she went. But at the end of the book she shares information on getting help with finances, dealing with insurance companies and school districts. I feel that this information is what all parents are looking for and don't know where to start.

[Sarah Wu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book may give false hope to parents desperate for a "cure" for autism. Although I do agree with many of the principles of applied behavior analysis, this book may overstate its effectiveness. Certainly what the mother feels is described very well.

[Iamshadow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to see the workings of Lovaas. Unfortunately, Maurice seems determined to 'rid' her children of the slightest trace of autistic behaviours, and uses her children's repetitive tests as a benchmark to work from to get them up to NT standard. I'd imagine her kids are probably still a/A, but have learned to play by the NT rules. This book is also a bit 'Lovaas is the only way' - expected, I imagine, since it's the parent's biographical flagship for this method. Of interest is her account that blows the lid off the so-called technique called 'holding therapy'. One only wonders why she was so dense as to persist with it so long with what she saw.

[Melissa Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Parts of the book were helpful, but I don't believe children are "cured" of autism. Some can make big improvements though.

The parts of the book that were helpful were:

The Apendix - Curriculum used for Michael, tantrum info, and the importance of keeping good records of your childs program.

and the Afterward by Dr. Lovaas.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started this book, but did not finish it because I did not like this woman's "why me", "why my child" attitude. That is a question I have never asked myself. My son is with me, and our family for a special reason, and I am thankful to my Heavenly Father for having entrusted him to us.

[Tani Mortensen · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I read this it was so similar to me, I also was pregnant with a little boy while dealing with an Autistic daughter. But these books that claim to save or cure autism infuriate me!! There is no cure!!!We try EVERYTHING

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The day my twins were diagnosed with severe autism at the age of 2, I remember the developmental pediatrician sliding a piece of paper across the table, that listed this book as a recommendation of what to read to inform myself about a disorder I really knew nothing about.

8 years ago I would have rated this book 5 stars because I felt that it had provided an informed insight into how to be a "do-er" when confronted with such a terrifying diagnosis. I was introduced to ABA, which has since become the foundation and platform for all that the boys have achieved since then. It was a story that gave me hope that my boys, could too, someday overcome all of the challenges ahead of them.

But it was also a story that terrified me. It had an air of 'if you don't do this, your children will not meet their potential'. For that reason, my rating has since gone down. Because since then, I have read many true stories on families' challenges with autism and they were written with a tone of empathy for the reader. Almost with an understanding that the writing is the author's effort to help ease the fear of the reader, of the fellow autism parent, so that they can learn from each other. Without any condescension or finger-wagging.

I would still recommend it. Because each of our stories have the potential to help another family.

[Mary Katerine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't get the necessity of these books, other than to further stigmatise and hurt autistic folks. Shame on you.

Si rusine editurii care a tradus aceasta carte in romana, cand ati fi putut traduce atatea si atatea carti care chiar sa fie benefice comunitatii autiste.

[Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

liked the concept. HATE the treatment modality. Too Narrow.

[Thea Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let Me Hear Your Voice is a thought-provoking biographical piece, written by a mother after her two youngest children are diagnosed with autism. The story details the agony and heartbreak, Catherine Maurice, and her husband go through while dealing with their children's diagnoses. Let Me Hear Your Voice was a problematic read for me for many reasons. However, this book is also a product of its time. The book was published in the early 1990s, and the Maurice's first child with autism receives her diagnosis in 1987. At this time, there was not a lot of information about autism. It was a disability few knew anything about. For these reasons I can forgive many of the book's shortcomings. But it would feel irresponsible not to discuss them in a review. The way the Maurices coped with their children's diagnoses was unhealthy. They looked at autism as something that needed to be "cured". The phrase "overcoming autism" was used continuously throughout the book, and the disorder was even personified at times, like the way we typically think of "defeating cancer". Autism was the villain of this novel; and the last thing Catherine wanted was for her child to have any residual characteristics related to it. I am so curious to find out how these children have grown and matured. What was their later childhood like? Adolescence? Are they fully functioning, productive members of society now, without a hint of their diagnosis? If you are a paren of a child who has just received a diagnosis of autism, do not read this book under any circumstances. Read this book once you have gained some perspective, after you have gone through all the trials, traumas, and tribulations that accompany any diagnosis related to social-emotional health. This book will lead you to believe that having autism is a death sentence, and if you are unable to mange any of the negative symptoms associated with the disability, your child will live an unhappy life. This could not be farther from the truth! Instead of overcoming autism, families need to be more focused on improving the quality of life a child with autism has. Because unfortunately, not every child will end up like the Maurices did after some intensive behavioral therapy. Children with extremely low-functioning autism may never achieve or master the things that Catherine's children did, and this book may provide false hope to parents who are looking for answers. All in all, I believe this book is very informative, and unique that it provides a very particular perspective that we do not normally hear about. I would hope if the Maurices were dealing with their children in 2018 that they would feel differently than they did in 1987. I am also highly interested in reading a follow up that would explain the rest of their development!

[Cheyanne Ruiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this book for my class. I thought this book was insightful of what life is like for a mother whose child has autism. In the beginning of the book the mother was in denial about autism. Towards the end she finally got resources to help her children with autism. I didn’t like how she would say “cure” for autism because there is really no cure it’s a lifelong disease. But it was great to read in the end how her children were able to adapt and prosper.

[Elise Geither · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this as part of the requirements for an introductory course on working with students on the spectrum. Fantastic book! I learned more from this book than any other text I've had so far on autism. Easy to read, interesting, and greatly informative. This book focuses on ABA over other practices, so if you are a proponent of Holding Therapy or F/C, you may find this not suited to your tastes; however, you cannot deny the great progress the author's children experienced using ABA. The only notes I had include the fact that this is the story of an obviously well-off family - a summer house, nanny, a large home in NY. So the program undertaken may be one that others could not afford. And at times I wasn't interested that the "nanny" was taking care of the kids who were playing in the "library" of the home. Also, I wanted to know more about the author, but the name is just a pseudonym to protect the privacy of the family. FANTASTIC book!

[Susan Socha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is about a couple whose child is autistic....the kid started out normal, but lost her words and regressed to the point on non communication. This is all scary stuff. These people had lots and lots of money because they could hire an ABA person to come in and work with the child every day, and a speech therapist who came in three times a week. They also tried other therapies, like hug therapy and play therapy and decided that it didn't work. The mother also spent literally hours every day with the child, even going to school with the child. Yes, the child recovered, but 99% of people do not have the financial ability to do what this family could do. The mother didn't work, and they saw all kinds of specialists, and yes they saved the child. It was tragic that their next child, who was born when they found out the first child was autistic, also turned out to be autistic and they had to do it all over again. What I would like to know is how are these kids now? Did they make it to adulthood? Are they still ok as adults? How did this affect the family later on when they were teenagers? Did they have financial problems because of helping their children? Was the one normal child affected by what happened? So many unanswered questions, and these kids are in their twenties now. Would love to read a followup. I did get a little bored at the end when the author started going through the therapies and other things. I also thought the author gave a little too much detail sometimes.

[Kelly Behen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a tough one. Very much outdated at this point so it was excruciatingly hard for me to read. I do think the author, at the time of writing, was very well educated on the topic, but I don’t find much of this to be relevant today. There are a lot of specific facts and doctors to keep straight and that in itself was hard for me. Wouldn’t suggest reading it in this day and age…

[Allie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strongly backs a behavioral approach to treating autism, which can make you a bit uncomfortable. It is best to remember that what "works" for one family doesn't necessarily work for another and that there are various definitions to what a "successful" treatment is.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book. Very inspirational. Must read for any family member of a child with autism or PDD It really gives the reader an idea of what ABA - Applied Behavioral Analysis is all about and how effective it is in treating autism.

[Heth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I worked with kids with autism, so this was one of the first books I read on the subject...it's amazing.

[Jamie Griffith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book you should read after an autism diagnosis.

[Elena Ingersoll · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very outdated, and I didn't like the concept of "curing autism". it might've been somehow informative for its time but there are better books for parents now.

[Cammie Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Let Me Hear Your Voice" by Catherine Maurice was a very interesting book. I'd never heard of anyone "recovering" from autism before. This is a true story of how TWO out of three of Catherine Maurice's children developed (they could have been born with it) autism between the ages of 1 & 2. Knowing something was wrong with her middle child, Catherine was relentless in finding out a diagnosis, then finding someone who could truly help her child, then participating & facilitating in their recovery.

As you may already know - finding two doctors - let alone any two people agreeing on something in this world is hard. Finding someone who knew much about Autism (especially back in the 1990's) was even harder. I'd say with the mother's determination, the watchful eye & guidance of God & a few good doctors & therapists Catherine was able to "recover" her children from this horrible situation.

As I was reading the book my heart raced (and my blood pressure went higher & higher), reading of all the tribulations she, her daughter & the rest of the family had to go through. Just when they felt they were able to see the light at the end of the tunnel with their daughter, their youngest son starts regressing & showing the same signs of autism. I couldn't believe it! If I remember correctly one family has only a 2% chance of having another child that is diagnosed with this dreaded syndrome.

I felt like I was on a roller coaster ride reading about the female child. Then when the same thing happens to the younger brother I felt exhausted - just READING about what this poor family went through.

Although my older brother-in-law has autism, I had no idea about the "closed-door-thinking" in the medical community - especially back "in the day". Back when he was probably diagnosed (back in the 1950's), it was thought to be caused by the child's mother not nurturing them enough or some other medieval-type of thinking. I can't imagine what my mother-in-law must have gone through. No wonder why her husband thought it was his wife's fault! UGH!

Anyway, the earlier a parent sees symptoms of losing words their child has previously known (loss of eye contact, loss of interaction, etc.) the earlier the child can start therapy & possibly recover (even a little bit). This family used 3 different methods for treating autism. The main one for the first child was a type of holding-therapy. The 2nd one was behavioral therapy. Behavioral therapy at first didn't seem as important to this family as the holding therapy- but later it became clear it had helped the most. By the time their 2nd child was diagnosed, the parents concentrated on the behavioral therapy the most.

I highly recommend this book - whether you have someone in your family that has autism or not. It was truly a roller-coaster ride & a very interesting read!

[Nicoleta Deca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este o carte biografică scrisă de o mamă după ce cei doi copii ai ei mai mici au fost diagnosticați cu autism. Cartea este scrisă în mare parte in termeni tehnici, fiindca autoarea avea studii in psihologie dar si pentru ca s-a documentat foarte mult și a fost greu de înțeles părți din ea. Este o poveste despre agonia și durerea prin care trec sotii Maurice în timp ce se ocupă de diagnosticele copiilor lor. Primul copil cu autism al lui Maurice este Anne-Marie in varsta de doi ani. La putin timp se naste si Michel, pe care il vor diagnostica tot cu autism ceva mai sever decat al fetitei. Modul în care soții Maurice au făcut față diagnosticelor copiilor lor a fost dureros si au incercat sa trateze autismul ca o boala cu un tratament adecvat inclusiv administrand diverse medicamente pentru boli psihice. Tratamentul, care nu se descoperise, si care era aproape necunoscut la acea vreme chiar si diagnosticul este cerut mereu la fiecare vizita cu copilul la diversi medici. Depășirea autismului este folosită în mod continuu pe tot parcursul cărții, si de multe ori autismul fost pus in categoria cancerului pentru Catherine. In unele capitole Catherine chiar crede ca Domnul o sa ii trimita un ajutor in vindecarea bolii si credinta ei va fii rasplatita daca va persevera sa se roage. In final aude de un fel de terapie a unui medic care oferea o terapie comportamentală intensivă, o modificare de comportament. S-a dovedit ca ABA este cea mai de succes terapie pentru autism. As fi dorit un epilog al cartii in care sa se spuna ce evolutie au avut copii ei dupa mai multi ani.

[Cris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an older book. Today it is an accepted fact that ABA is the most successful method of therapy for Autism, but when this was written 1990's, it was considered a cruel dehumanizing therapy. I can see why this book makes parents angry though. Anger is our response to that which is difficult to do. True, different children react differently to therapy, but even so what this woman did was extremely difficult. Catherine Maurice had the perfect storm of things to attack the Autism of her children with: a) good therapists, b) a discriminating mind able to see through faux therapies, c) financial resources to try different things, C) a dependable caretaker to help care for her other children, D) a supportive husband, and E) the ability and desire to get in the trenches herself knowing that no therapist was going to care more than a mother. Maurice also had a well-informed faith and a community praying for her to support that steel-resolve. There is hope in this old story, particularly for parents of young children, but there should also be the realization for parents of older kids that this story takes place in the span of two years. (Most of us have purses older than that.) Hope for the road requires thankfulness for whatever we have achieved and patience. Patience is the pillar that never breaks.

[Samuel James · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the remarkable things about this book is how it reflects a profoundly different view of autism and spectrum disorder than what is common now. Maurice, her husband, and most of her doctors actually talk of autism as a burden, something that might be able to be cured or might not, but as an enemy to be defeated. Maurice describes the symptoms of infantile autism with such terrifying specificity that this attitude makes intuitive sense in the world of the book.

And yet, in 2024, this attitude is not only uncommon, it is arguably viewed as a public sin. To say, act, or treat autism as if it is a problem to fought or resisted runs afoul of autistic "identity." Mental illness means something very different in this book than it means to much of the 21st century elite.

This is a gorgeously written memoir that is often moving. It's a profoundly hopeful book but a realistic portrayal of a parent's anguish. It's slightly overlong, and not all readers will find the clinical material toward the end particularly relevant. But if you want something very, very fresh by contemporary standards, this nearly 40 year old book delivers.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read. Definitely written from an intelligent and so very loving mother’s perspective. she described her battle against autism as one of fighting to bring her daughter back from a dark, lonely place where she was lost but did not know how to get out of. Since autism was a pulling away from people and being in her own world exclusively, it was a tremendously tough love with which she demanded her child to look at her and talk to her. She would not let Anne Marie spend more than 30 minutes by herself, in her own world. Rather, she continually brought her back to family or therapist throughout the day to ensure AM was present in their world. Her description of and opinion of the medical professionals was refreshing and bold and funny. Her explanation of autism was very different from the father who wrote The Boy Who Felt Too Much, though. Maybe because her children were babies when they were diagnosed? Not sure.