A Different Kind of Boy: A Father's Memoir about Raising a Gifted Child with Autism

A Different Kind Of Boy: A Father's Memoir About Raising A Gifted Child with Autism is the personal memoir of Daniel Mont, the father of an autistic boy. Daniel's fourth grade son Alex has difficulty interacting with the world and other people, is prone to anxiety, and has no real friends. But Alex is an amazing child prodigy in math, and one of seven fourth graders in the United States to ace the National Math Olympiad. A Different Kind Of Boy is a heartfelt, candid, and ultimately inspiring tale of the struggle of a father to teach his gifted child the awareness the boy needs to survive and connect with others, while making the most of his prodigious talents. A Different Kind Of Boy is highly recommended reading for any parent of an autistic or specially gifted child.

I, too, have a high-functioning very smart son with autism about the same age as the boy in this book, so I ordered "A Different Kind of Boy" as soon as I heard about it. I loved it. The way the author showed the events in his family's life and the evolution of his and his wife's perspective was wonderful. I identified with most of the author's experiences, especially those involving interactions with schools and teachers. Besides my autistic son, I have two other sons with different disorders. The frustrations the author in had dealing with trying to get the world to "get it" applies to all three of my sons' situations. I highly recommend this terrific book for teachers, medical professionals, and especially for parents of children with any special needs.

I stayed up until 1:30 am last night finishing this book. The Monts' story is moving and engrossing, filled with unexpected and often hilarious delightful surprises. I never laugh out loud when reading, but I did so while reading this one, many times. Alex's back and forth with his dad about the economics of grocery stores and amusement parks, his utter inability to comprehend why Jackie Robinson wasn't welcomed by every major league team ("But why, he was a great player, right?"), and his endless fascination and facility for games (tic-tac-toe with gravity, so that you can't put a symbol in any square that isn't on top of another symbol or at the bottom of the grid - try it!) are particularly memorable. This first-time author displays a strong, clear writing voice, particularly in the last two-thirds of the book, when it seemed like he really locked into a narrative comfort zone that made the book flow extremely well, not to mention impossible to put down. His use of snippets of quoted dialog throughout the book is particularly striking and effective. Perhaps more important, the book opens up and explains the world of autism in a way that really allows the reader to understand and feel the nature of the condition. In the course of recounting observations and scenes from his own life and experiences with Alex, he manages to illustrate the various facets of autism and view them from a number of different directions. I found it both fascinating and even mind-blowing in many ways. I highly recommend this book. For people like me, who are relatively uneducated about the world of autism, it will make you think about people in a new way.

This is a beautiful memoir of committed parents raising a special child but there is much to be learned in it about being attentive to your child's needs and being an advocate for your own child.The honesty of this book is a gift to all of us. It lays bare the struggles, self doubts, trials and errors, as well as successes this family has experienced. The author opens a window for us into the life of his family, involving his wife and their younger child who does not have autism, his parents, and his own siblings. The author describes how they sought resources, worked with the school systems and strategized. Although encounters with unkind, unfeeling or clueless individuals are shown, there are many instances of kindness and support by children and adults that surprised this reader. One comes away amazed by the resourcefulness and committment of these parents.The book is also enjoyable and interesting. I read it the day I received it and was up until 2am to finish it.

Totally fascinated with the mathematically gifted autistic Alex, his parents, and the strength of their marriage, I empathize with them as they learn to deal with his uniqueness. Not without humor, Daniel and Nanette Mont show fierce determination as they grapple with the necessity to socialize and school their extraordinary child, while Alex' "NT" (neurologically typical or "normal") younger brother Simon finds his ways of reaching him. I couldn't put the book down.