Book -Born to Fly: Living with Autism tells the personal story of Australian siblings forced to live apart in the 1950’s
In 1958, Mary Ann Napper’s profoundly autistic 12 year old twin brother, Johnny, was sent to live in Queensland with Cath McCarthy, a mothercraft nurse. McCarthy had enjoyed some success working with emotionally withdrawn children but at the time, Autism was unheard of and medical authorities failed to acknowledge her treatment methods.
Mary Ann spent her school holidays visiting her brother and saw for herself the benefits of McCarthy’s work. Insightful, kind and intelligent, Cath McCarthy was a woman ahead of her time who devoted her life to working with children and achieved unbelievable results.
Many years later, McCarthy gave Napper (who, by then, had forged her own career as a registered nurse in mental health) a copy of her unpublished manuscript, The Life History of an Autistic Child. It documented the case of a child who had been removed from a mental asylum in 1951 and placed in McCarthy’s care. As a result, Napper was inspired to write her own manuscript to commemorate McCarthy’s lifetime of work.
Set in Australia in 1949, Born to Fly (OMNE, $19.99) is a dramatised version of events, incorporating the experiences of both Napper and McCarthy. The story is about Jamie Sullivan, who is diagnosed with Gross Mental Deficiency at the age of three and given little prospect for improvement. Undeterred, his nanny, Helen Ryan works to take Jamie from a state of feral wilderness, to being able to communicate with his family. It is a story of determination, courage and great warmth. Napper’s aim in writing Born to Fly is to inspire people with autism, their families and health authorities to consider all approaches when trying to help someone with autism relate to and interact with the world around them.
Born to Fly was released in April to coincide with World Autism Awareness Month (www.autismspeaks.org/). In addition, 25% from all book sales will be donated to Autism Spectrum Australia www.autismspectrum.org.au
Born To Fly is available at www.borntofly-livingwithautism.com.au
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