978-1572305441

Sally, Ann, and Danny 131
In the end there is no rational explanation for the cause of ASD, at
least not now. The genetic evidence that I alluded to earlier refers to
what we know about the population of children with autism and ASD.
Such theories say little about Sally, Ann, and Danny. It is about Robert
that Ron and Carol want answers, not some abstract notion of “children
with autism,” and I have so little to give.
The parents of these children are innocent victims of their genetic
background. The possibility of giving birth to a child with autism is the
sword of Damocles they carried over their heads from childhood. These
autistic susceptibility genes are nobody’s fault, but they are passed down
from one generation to the next. Misfortune lies in wait for years,
through our childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. It causes
grievous harm only when two people come together and create a new
human being, usually a joyous and wonderful act. But misfortune and
tragedy lie in wait. For these parents, their destiny is truly in their
genes.
This tragedy is senseless and lies just the other side of our daily
lives. It happens to innocent people—a shop assistant and a factory
worker, two lawyers. What have they done wrong? Is it a test? Is it a
punishment for some earlier mishap or error? In the face of misfortune,
we reason like children and personalize the accident as somehow
caused by us. These births force us to confront the enormity of our biology.
For these families, their genes are their masters to some extent because
the genes determine a life history for them. The search for causes
leads ultimately to the incomprehensibility of misfortune and tragedy.
But this is not like a Greek tragedy, where the hero has committed a
crime against the gods and must be punished. The misfortune is senseless,
and to that extent evil lurks in our genes. We are all fallible, all
prey to biological mishaps, potentially denied the joy of hearing a
child’s voice in the house.
Having three affected children makes it easier for Joan and Dave to
accept that the disorder is genetic than it is for Ron and Carol. The
enormity of the evidence is so overwhelming. This has allowed them to
move on to treatment and to caring for these children while at the same
time trying to create some semblance of normal family life. The relentless
search undertaken by Ron and Carol for a cause has made it difficult
for Robert to be fully involved in a comprehensive treatment program.
All families with a child with ASD must live with the ambiguity of
never knowing the exact cause of their child’s handicap. Ron and Carol