Behold the puppetmaster!

The worst books about autism are always those written by parents who claim to have cured their autistic children. The treatment of choice always has three features - it fails all rigorous scientific testing, it is incredibly time-consuming and expensive, and it is extremely arduous for the child concerned. The reality is that development is often uneven in autism and many children appear to have reduced symptoms over time without any intervention at all.

I have recently come across a particularly bad example of this sort of book. It has all the usual offensive features, including effusive reviews by other Autism Mommies, but it has a special lack of charm all of its own, in the form of a tasteless metaphor based on the story of Pinocchio. The author claims that her son is now a 'real boy', like the puppet at the end of the fairy tale, rather than being autistic. I would like to reassure my readers that I am not made of wood and that I am not controlled by strings - nor do I have any friendship bonds with crickets. However, as I rack my brains for anything positive to say about this apalling piece of literature, I am concerned that if I attempted to do so, that my nose would grow to such a length that I would be unable to see the screen.