The story of Sachiko and Masato and their autistic son, Hikaru, continues through Hikaru's later elementary school years with some new challenges and experiences. Hikaru gets sick for the first time and goes to a camp with his class for a few days. Continuing challenges include Hikaru's teacher, who continues to expect more from her autistic students than can they can realistically achieve, particularly in their emotional responses. There are also new problems that have no relationship with Hikaru: Masato is transferred to a job that makes less income because of a supervisor who wants him out of the office, and ends up getting drunk. Sachiko also continues to have problems with her mother-in-law, who tries to take Kanon, Hikaru's sister, from her parents to raise her in a way she deems more appropriate. The family continues to rely on each other, neighbors, friends, and community resources to make it through each new challenge.
Impression: For some reason, I wasn't as impressed with this volume as with the previous two. It's still a good series, but there seemed to be some inconsistency this time around. For example, Hikaru, like most autistics, is fairly rigid when it comes to routines, yet there were actually very few problems on his trip away from home. From the way Hikaru has been portrayed in the past, he is much like my son when overwhelmed by changes and tends to melt down not only more quickly but also more dramatically. My son is in high school and has only recently begun to manage some control over that. This is just one example of the "little things" that struck me as off this time around.
But the story is still good, and the family's internal support and reliance on outside resources is very realistically portrayed. Raising an autistic child is a tough job, and all of us who are doing it need to find supports and resources to help us keep our sanity and to make it through the challenges. The story also continues to raise awareness of autism, its affect on the children, and the struggles of the families raising autistic children.
Unless otherwise noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by me.
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