Patricia Skerrette’s book about her son, Kevon, is dedicated “to parents of autistic children who are searching for answers and in need of hope.”
After Kevon was recently diagnosed with autism, Skerrette learned all she could to support his development—especially since public assistance was often short-lived or lacking. He received speech therapy and intensive behavioral intervention services for only two years, and while in kindergarten he was often sent home for being disruptive. Eventually, he was placed in a more supportive special needs classroom, but Skerrette continued to assume primary responsibility for his development.
Skerrette’s main advice to parents (besides being patient, not giving up, and praying for their children) is to observe them in order to understand what triggers their behaviors: “You can learn almost everything you need to know about parenting your children by paying close attention to your child. It’s not easy, [sic] especially in today’s rush-rush world lots of children slips [sic] through the crack [sic] there’s [sic] some of those parents pretends [sic] and blind fold [sic] themselves and not pay focus on there [sic] children [sic] issues [sic] these are things we need to do.” (page 50)
As revealed by the quote above, Kevon’s Story has numerous punctuation, grammar, and word usage errors. In addition, the book is not well organized. There are no chapters or other breaks, and much information is rehashed throughout. On page 31, Psalm 147 is included, yet the surrounding text gives no mention of the Scripture. Similarly, on page 62, a bulleted list appears without explanation.
Skerrette’s determination and methods to help Kevon grow up to be productive and happy bring a tenderness to this book that parents of children with autism will connect with. The technical and organizational problems, however, make the text difficult to get through and obscure the words of hope she offers. These issues will likely limit the audience to those with a personal connection to Skerrette.
Also available as an ebook.
