Chapter 6 - Chapter 11 Summary and Analysis

In Chapter 6, the family begins to read more about autism. Some books simply describe the disease and treatments being tested, which include therapies related to speech, neurotransmitter medications, increasing levels of serotonin, treatment for fragile X syndrome, and others. It seems to Catherine these studies will eventually find a cause and cure for autism, but offer no hope now. The family learns of self stimulatory behaviors, such as running hands over a smooth surface and finger curling, which Anne Marie has begun to do. They also learn of perseverative behaviors, or those behaviors that seem to obsess, and that these turn to stereotypical rituals when repeated consistently. They also learn some children are born different; some show autism at around eighteen months, and some not until after age two. The books note many in the past believed...