When Snow Turns to Rain
One Family's Struggle to Solve the Riddle of Autism
by Craig B. SchulzeMay 19, 1982 Jordan Schulze started life as a normal kid. He progressed precociously for over two years. His parents delighted in his obvious intelligence, his speech, his good naturedness. But after the age of two, Jordan regressed. He spoke less and less. He spent a lot of time engaged in self stimulatory persuits. He ceased to be easy going. Jordan receives the diagnosis of autism. His parents seek a cure or treatment. They pay 9000 dollars to be trained at the Option Institute, and take their training home. Despite intensive work, Jordan continues to regress. His parents give up; the Son Rise program is not working. Many drug therapies are tried, all to no avail. Jordan was sent to a Daily Life Therapy school in Japan, and later their school in Boston. There, Jordon becomes more docile. He uses a few words, but not many.
This is the saddest autism story I have ever read. Jordan's story of regression is very dramatic, and I expected charges to be brought that a vaccine was the culprit, but none were. Jordan's parents may are not superparents, but they have little cause to be. Jordan's autism, which might be more accurately termed childhood onset PDD, justifies the term tragic. As far as usefulness goes, this book shows the failure of treatments often billed as benefitting all autists.
Sad reading
