They Don't Come with Instructions

Book excerpt: In They DonÂt Come with Instructions, Hollie M. Holt-Woehl offers wise companionship for the journey with a developmentally challenged child. The mother of a son with an autism diagnosis, Holt-Woehl recognizes that parenting is never easy. Challenges abound as parents help children grow up and find their place in the world. But she knows firsthand that adding a developmental challenge makes parenting far more complex. Drawing on her own experience and that of nearly forty other parents she surveyed for this book, Holt-Woehl shares stories, information, and insights about tending to the pain, recognizing the joy, and finding ways to keep hope through the ups and downs of this path. The book focuses on the challenges of parenting children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD), and/or Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Not only parents, but friends, family, and members of faith communities who seek to understand what it is like to live with a developmentally challenged child will appreciate Holt-Woehl's down-to-earth and compassionate approach.