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This book, written by the mother of an autistic child, makes a considerable contribution to the subject of infantile autism, in spite of the fact that it reveals a great deal about the writer's personality and motives for this publication.
Mrs. Park vividly describes the impact such a child makes on the life of a family, and specifically upon parents who set great value on intellectual achievement. It is in the area of ego development that Mrs. Park's observations
are most acute. All the well known features of autism are found here, together with a particular capacity to perform certain intellectual tasks (e.g. puzzles). The mother's own educational background is put to the best possible use, both in her observations and in her ability to invent ways of making contact with Ellie, and helping her to develop skills. A noticeable difference between Ellie and many of the autistic and borderline children is that she does not seem to be subject to overwhelming states of anxiety and panic. This may to some extent be due to the parents’ empathy with the child's needs, and to the mother's determination to find ways of making contact with Ellie and to further her developmental skills.
One suspects however, that the determination that has made it possible for Mrs. Park to persevere in the fact of inevitable fluctuations, frustrations and very slow progress, is also the quality which impedes her handling of this little girl's instinctual development. This can be deduced from the brief references to feeding, habit training and aggression. It seems significant to us that Ellie developed a symptom of anal retention at a time when the onslaught on her ego was so successful. This may throw light on the precarious balance between ego and libidinal development in such children.
While it is questionable whether any outsider would have worked as successfully with Ellie as her mother has done, one is left with a nagging suspicion that anyone as personally involved as a mother must find tha