Always Leave Them Laughing-Autism Fiction Novel Calls Attention to the Crisis of Adults with Autism

PRLog (Press Release) - Jul. 12, 2012 - July 11, 2012 (Palm Beach, Florida)- Valerie Herskowitz, one of the world’s foremost expert on the subject of autism and individuals with developmental disabilities, has released her new book, Always Leave Them Laughing, a story about a mother and her struggle to deal with the future of her adult son with autism. This is Ms. Herskowitz' first fiction novel. The synopsis: The mother, a middle-aged woman has lived her life as an independent soul caring for her disabled son on her own. But one day, a personal crisis requires her to evaluate the one mantra she has subscribed to for as long as she can remember. As she attempts to make changes in her personal situation, she realizes that she has a deeper purpose that she must follow.

As a mother of an adult son with autism, Valerie Herskowitz knows that thousands of families who have a child with special needs will one day face the issue of what will happen to their loved one when they are no longer able to care for them. "With the rate of autism now skyrocketing to a statistic of 1 in 88 individuals, our society is presently not equipped to deal with so many people who will need special services when they reach adulthood. How will we as a society handle this issue," said Ms Herskowitz, author of Always Leave Them Laughing. Through the use of a fictionalized account of one mother's experience to answer this question for her own son, Ms. Herskowitz hopes to bring international attention to this looming crisis.

This book is available in an electronic version for $2.99, and can be downloaded in many formats for Kindle, Apple iPad, iBook, Nook, Sony Reader, Kobo, Palm, Plain text, etc. Readers have an opportunity to sample this book before purchase at: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/181423

With autism occurrence in epidemic proportions, Ms. Herskowitz feels the urgency to call out to every parent, grandparent, brother and sister of those who have loved ones on the spectrum. In addition, even those who do not have a direct connection to this situation will be affected as so many of members of our society will need help to live. This dilemma has the potential to bring our social system to its knees if we do not handle this in an effective way. This book not only will captivate the reader with its poignant story, but can provide the catalyst for many families and individuals in our communities to evaluate the oncoming issue of caring for adults with developmental disabilities, and perhaps come up with viable solutions to handle the situation.

About Valerie Herskowitz
Valerie Herskowitz has been a speech and language pathologist since 1978. She has spent many of those years working with individuals who have autism and other developmental disabilities. She was the founder of Dimensions Therapy Center. She was the recipient of the Stevie Lifetime Achievement Award for her work with autistic and special needs children and has also been honored for starting two innovative community programs, Mothers of Special Needs Individuals (MOSI) and the National Autism Registry (NARY) Family Club.

Her youngest son, Blake, was diagnosed in 1993 with autism. Her journey as a therapist and as a parent of a child with autism have combined to give Ms. Herskowitz the unique insights to help families cope with problems they face in parenting a child with autism. She is a contributing writer for a number of national publications on the subject of autism, and is the author of the book, Autism and Computers: Maximizing Independence Through Technology.

Contact Ms. Herskowitz:
info at valerieherskowitz dot com

Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/11923231/1