Scientist struggles with son’s autism, finds great success
The book, ‘Maverick Mind’ a great tool for parents of autistic kids

As a nationally known brain scientist, Cheri Florance, Ph.D., had the skills and training to help her patients overcome information processing difficulties. But she wasn’t completely prepared to encounter her toughest challenge, her own son, Whitney.

From birth, Whitney appeared unable to hear, seemed incapable of making any sounds and was indifferent to those around him. He was diagnosed with severe autism, deafness and mental retardation, a diagnosis that usually means a lifelong existence of sterile institutions and medication.

Although the diagnosis of autism seemed to fit, Florance couldn’t accept the life that such a condition predicted for Whitney. She recognized something in him that no one else saw: a boy desperate to connect, skilled at building models and solving problems that reflected a highly visual intelligence, yet trapped by his inability to communicate.

For the first two years of his life, Whitney didn’t interact with anyone or anything, except for unrolling a roll of toilet paper. When he reached age 2, he showed a strong interest in mechanical toys, but doctors told his mother that he should be isolated from other children because of his autism.

Florance disagreed. She fought to keep him in mainstream classes. She redesigned her life and career so that she could be with Whitney and supervise his development.

In Florance’s intense search for answers, she discovered that Whitney’s visual intelligence was well-developed. But it was working so hard that it was shutting out his ability to learn or create language.

Relying on her nearly 30 years of experience as a scientist, Florance devised experimental treatments to tap into this section of his brain and encourage these highly functioning areas to help his nonfunctioning auditory system develop. Singlehandedly, she discovered how to teach her unresponsive and unfeeling son language and learning.

Whitney fought his way through each year of school, but slowly his communication skills improved. By ninth grade, he was excelling in wrestling and football and receiving good grades without special services. In 10th grade, he was taking college classes and in 11th grade, he sang and danced in the musical "Carousel."

In her book "Maverick Mind: A Mother’s Story of Solving the Mystery of Her Unreachable, Unteachable, Silent Son," Florance tells the story of how she released her son from the stigma and constraints that come with the diagnosis of autism and how her resolve led to the discovery of an unexplored disorder and the development of a controversial new treatment.

In her intense search for answers, she not only found her son but discovered something profound about the way the brain works and how humans learn. Florance’s story "will resonate with any parent who has struggled to help a child, while it also illuminates the mysteries of the brain."

The re-engineering of Whitney’s brain now serves as a model for children and adults with highly visual brains. This new knowledge has helped struggling medical students as well as children and business leaders. Whitney’s story also brings new understanding to visual thinkers and opens opportunities for true exceptional genius.

Florance is a medical speech-language pathologist, an adjunct professor of psychiatry and clinical director of The Brain Clinic at the Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health. She has established an ongoing eBrain scholars program for training therapists through the City University of New York. For more information about Florance, visit the Website at www.drflorance.com.

This story was provided by NewsUSA.