Reasonable People: A Memoir of Autism and Adoption

This is a powerful memoir that challenges the prevailing view of autism and disability. Savarese tells the true and incredibly moving story of his severely autistic adopted son. The child, abandoned by his mother to the Florida social service system, was routinely abused by his foster family. This abuse inflicted severe mental and physical damage on the boy, whose autism was seriously complicated by the trauma. Under the care of Savarese and his wife, the boy is now able to attend school and has been able to communicate effectively through writing, demonstrating a mastery of expression which was thought to be far beyond his capacity.