When her three-year-old son, Jacob, was diagnosed with autism and she was told he might never learn to read, Kristine Barnett knew, deep down, that the doctors were wrong about her son. Yes, he had autism, but there was something about the way he studied light and shadows and always carried a set of alphabet cards with him that made this strong-willed mother not lower her expectations for him after his diagnosis. "Maybe he was trying to learn to read with those beloved alphabet cards, maybe he wasn't," she writes, "either way, instead of taking them away, I would make sure he had as many as he wanted."
The Spark is the delightful and tender story of how Barnett rejected the advice from experts--as well as her own husband--determined to engage Jacob on his level and on his terms. She soon discovered, far exceeding anyone's imagination, that Jacob was a genius, scoring higher on IQ tests than was possible to record. While juggling her daycare business and evening classes for autistic children, raising two other sons and dealing with her own illness, Barnett sought out advanced classes for Jacob at the university level and watched her son evolve from a shy, withdrawn child to an animated expert in science and math. The Spark provides readers with hands-on examples of how to unlock the potential in every child and instills a feel-good message about fighting for individualism while maintaining the attributes of a normal, play-filled childhood. --Lee E. Cart, freelance writer and book reviewer