Dear Umar - A father's journey in discovering and dealing with Autism; is written by Tauseef Patel and chronicles his family's experiences of raising an Autistic child. The author and his wife are blessed with a beautiful boy, Umar. The book offers a few glimpses of their journey from wondering if their son is Autistic to diagnosis to coming to term with the diagnosis to charting a new path and the amazing progress made by Umar. Every parent of an Autistic child will identify with the emotions and difficult moments narrated by the author. Their struggle in the early days before diagnosis, when Umar would have meltdowns is something we all have gone through. The difficult days of the diagnosis and the days after that when we rechart our life path and progress on a new journey is beautifully narrated by the author. Each chapter ends with a positive message; a wonderful way to look at life!
We get to know Umar from being non speaking in the early childhood to a young child who can communicate verbally and how he gradually learns various skills. The most heart touching aspect of this journey is the amazing emotional and physical support this family gets from their extended family and friends. They cherish Umar and are there whenever needed. The author shares in a chapter how his brother-in-law supported Umar during a difficult transition. Umar was used to being picked up by his mom after school. She had to go back to work and their brother-in-law stepped in to help by picking up Umar. As soon as Umar realized that his mom was not coming to pick him up, he had a meltdown and no amount of consoling, cajoling or bribing with toys and treats helped. But the brother-in-law patiently continued to pick him up from school, in spite of meltdowns; not for a week or a month but for two whole years, such was his love for Umar!
Surround your child with people who accept and understand Autism and cherish him. That will give him/her the launchpad to take on the challenges of Autism. God Bless you Umar!
You can purchase the book on Amazon India
