The Spark Quotes

“curing autism would be the same as “curing” science and art.”
― Kristine Barnett, The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing, Genius, and Autism

“The very first day, I came up with an obstacle course that everyone could do. The kids had to pick their way through five hula hoops lying on the ground; cross a mat by stepping on four giant, brightly colored "feet" that I'd cut out of felt; and then pick up an extra-large beanbag (actually a buckwheat neck and shoulder pillow) and bring it back to the group. I'd bought bags of cheap gold medals at Walmart, the kind you'd put in a little kid's birthday part goody bag. I made sure I had enough for everyone. So even when a child stepped on every single hula hoop and none of the giant feet, he or she got a medal.

A few weeks in, I noticed that Adam, a nonverbal thirteen-year-old, was always clutching that medal in whichever hand his mom wasn't holding. The medals weren't very study to begin with, and his was beginning to look a bit worse for wear, so after class I slipped a couple of spares into his mom's purse. Turning to thank me, she had tears in her eyes. "You can't imagine how much it means to him to have a medal," she said. "He sleeps with it.”
― Kristine Barnett, The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing Genius

“that everyone has an intrinsic talent, a contribution to make, even if it comes in an unexpected form.”
― Kristine Barnett, The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing, Genius, and Autism

“People ask what the hardest thing is about having an autistic child, and for me the answer is easy. What mom doesn’t want to hear her baby tell her that he loves her or to feel his arms around her?”
― Kristine Barnett, The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing, Genius, and Autism

“Igor von Moosenflüfen.”
― Kristine Barnett, The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing, Genius, and Autism

“One of the most illustrious astrophysicists in the world had not only reviewed my son’s theory but had validated it. That, I can tell you, was a chicken soup moment in a class all its own.”
― Kristine Barnett, The Spark by Kristine Barnett

“I came to see my maternal intuition as a compass pointing true north. Ignoring it could never yield a good result. In those cases where the needle was pointing away from where the experts wanted me to go, I had to trust what I call “mother gut.” I know that if Jake had stayed in special ed, we would have lost him, and this light that now burns so brightly would have been extinguished forever.”
― Kristine Barnett, The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing Genius