Irene Tanzman

Abie and Arlene's Autism War Irene Tanzman

Abie 's diagnosis of autism devastates his mother, Arlene. She hears, "If you work intensively with a kid with autism for forty hours a week, you can cure him." This almost sounds like an antidote to a spell in a fairy tale, but nonetheless, she sets out to cure him. Unfortunately, she discovers it's not so easy to secure the intervention her son needs. Then she finds out her son's autism is resistant to the miracles of intervention. As her journey progresses, she discovers the systems designed to help him actually hurt him and the rest of the family. Her dream transforms into a wish to get him out of a bad situation. Abie just wants to live his life, but the grownups are continually trying to get him to understand things he doesn't care about. He struggles to understand the world and his place in it as he battles discrimination, hatred, and a system that fails to protect him. Abie and Arlene's Autism War, biographical fiction inspired by a true story, describes a realistic, heartwarming, humorous, and crushing picture of an autism family's experiences. First, we hear the voice of Arlene, the desperate mother looking for a way to help her child. Then alternately, we hear the voice of Abie, an autistic child struggling to make sense of what is happening to him.