Fiction for Special Needs Families

Anyone else find themselves drawn to read books with characters going through similar challenges to your own family? 

We are an autism spectrum household, and on the bedside table at the moment is A Wild Ride Up the Cupboards by Ann Bauer. The very-pregnant mother of two narrator is Rachel, whose oldest son, Edward, begins a slow, painful withdrawal from the world at age 4. It's the story of Edward's descent into autism and the parents' struggle to sustain their marriage under the unanticipated strain. Rachel learns that her late uncle may have suffered from a similar disorder and she delves into her family history to learn more.

On deck is Tilt by Elizabeth Burns, described on Amazon like this: Bridget Fox's life is full of blessings, including her husband Pierce, a talented sculptor, and her two delightful daughters. But her elder daughter, Maeve, doesn't seem to be developing the way she's supposed to. She doesn't respond when she's called. She doesn't like to be touched, and the slightest disturbance sends her into a frenzy. Suddenly Bridget, who has plenty of experience with travel and art and sophisticated pleasures, is facing challenges she's never imagined. And as she copes with loss, change, and uncertainty-sometimes with nothing to hold on to but Maeve, and her sense of humor- she begins to find a strength she's never imagined.

Girls of Tender Age by Mary-Ann Tirone Smith is a memoir that reads like fiction and is set in Hartford so it's got a local feel. As a girl, her classmate was murdered by a serial killer. She blocks out the memory and doesn't recall it again until college, when she begins investigating what happened and who the killer was. The story is told through alternating chapters with Mary-Ann's perspective and the serial killers whereabouts. A side story in this book is about how Mary-Ann's family life was affected by her autistic older brother (at a time when children weren't labeled this way). Her brother's behavior was very severe -- for instance he would gnaw his wrist down to the bone if he heard loud noises, so no one was allowed to make any noise in the house. And heaven help everybody if the doorbell rang! Mary Ann's reflections as an adult of this aspect of her life and how she came to terms with that situation are a key part of why I loved this book.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon is a murder mystery told from the perspective of 15-year-old Christopher John Francis Boone, "mathematically gifted but socially hopeless," as one reviewer describes him. His parents have difficulty coping with his quirks. One evening he happens upon his neighbor's dog Wellington, who has been killed. The owner finds him cradling the dead dog and has him arrested. Christopher begins writing a book about his who-done-it investigation, which forces him to knock on neighbors' doors and talk to them, something he never thought he would be able (or want) to do. It's "original, clever, and genuinely moving," as a reviewer says.

If you've read any of these books, what did you think? And what other books with characters who have special needs have you read?