Emmy Dagnan

Fighting for Carlton Emmy Dagnan

I could fill a book with stories about my young son, Carlton. When I was a professor at a university in Nashville, where I lived with my husband and two children, I used to tell some of those stories to my class. It was a three hour lecture on anatomy and kinesiology that could stand a little breaking up with some occasional humor. Carlton and his behavior, as always, could bring a smile to most faces, as least when recounted as a story-after the fact. A couple of students would come up and tell me I should do just that-write a book of these stories inspired by my son because they were just so funny. But honestly, though I'll share some of those stories in this book, that is not what inspired me to write it. What did lead me to write this book is a desire to share some of what my husband and I have learned, often the hard way, about raising a child with autism. This book will discuss the many faces of autism, treatments available once you have a diagnosis, impact on family, and planning for the future. There are activities at the end of the chapters to help parents navigate the diagnosis.