Reaching One Thousand: a story of love, motherhood and autism

Abstract

When Ben is a baby, Rachel puts his behavioural quirks down to eccentricity. He likes to count letterboxes; he hates to get his hands dirty; loud noises make him anxious. But as Ben grows and his quirks become more pronounced, it becomes clear there is something else going on. When he is diagnosed with autism, Rachel must reconsider everything she thought she knew about parenting, about Ben, and about how best to mother him. Reaching One Thousand charts her quest to understand autism and to build a new kind of relationship with her son.