Reading Amalia Starr’s book 
on raising a son diagnosed with learning disorders, epilepsy, and ultimately Asperger’s Syndrome, was an insight into a journey many of us take raising children on the spectrum. For me it was a validation of how I’ve come around to parenting and now guiding my own child with Asperger’s.
I now accept who my child is, and I have far less focus on what or who she is not. Acceptance, says Amalia, is everything. “Acceptance leads to respect,” she says, and respect leads to a better relationship between parent and child, no matter how old either is. In this case, Amalia’s child is a 36-year-old man who has lived on his own, and own his own terms, for 12 years.
In the near future I’ll reveal more of Amalia’s sage advice and her struggles to get to this point in life with her son. I had the opportunity to interview this wonderful woman who has never stopped trying to figure out how to help her son and how to have a healthier relationship with him. I’m going through my interview notes and will post ASAP. 
