Maurizio Arduino, a psychologist and psychotherapist with extensive experience in the field of autism, follows the lives of four children from diagnosis into adulthood: Silvio, who sees the world through light; Cecilia, who finds it in the swing of a rope; Matteo, who takes refuge in mathematics; and Elia, who runs to quiet his demons.
With honesty and tenderness, he describes their lives, their struggles, and those of their families, doctors, and teachers.
Confronted with seemingly inexplicable behavior—why does Silvio stare into empty space for hours? Why does he have hysterical episodes each time he enters a room he knows well?—Arduino works to explain the underlying reasons and, where possible, the solutions, with remarkable clarity.
What emerges is the critical need for an integrated approach involving family, school, and care providers working in concert as a single mechanism. Only this kind of coordination can offer continuity and stability to the autistic person. But there is another truth here: every effort invested during childhood and adolescence risks being entirely undone by the absence of real, forward-looking solutions for adult life.
Eleonora Capizzi, 2016