Little Boy Lost - Hardcover

Bronwyn Hocking

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0747507007 ISBN 13: 9780747507000

Publisher: Bloomsbury, 1990

Synopsis

Bronwyn Hocking gave birth to Sam, a normal baby. As he grew, she gradually came to realize that he was not developing like a normal child. He also exhibited strange behaviour patterns and obsessions. Members of the medical profession were enigmatic in their observations, but eventually it became clear that Sam was autistic. Little Boy Lost is about Sam and about Bronwyn Hocking's continuing quest to understand him and to communicate with him. The past eleven years have led her to question and examine what autism is and what causes it, and to examine herself with remarkable candour. The result is a brave and unsentimental story which leads to a controversial conclusion. No one really understands autism - perhaps the loneliest affliction that any human has to endure - but Bronwyn Hocking has come closer than most to an explanation and to a possible course of action that can only bring hope to others. Bronwyn Hocking's story is the subject of a forthcoming Yorkshire Television documentary.

About this title

About the Author:

Bronwyn Hocking was born and grew up in North Queensland. She moved from Australia to London in her late teens, and after graduating from Hornsey Art College, she worked as a graphic designer in the film industry in Wardour Street. Bronwyn then moved to Yorkshire, where she worked in television as a film editor, researcher and director for approximately 12 years.

Her son Rene was born in Yorkshire. He was diagnosed autistic aged 3, and after separating from his father some time later, Bronwyn moved to Oxford with the aim of accessing better schooling and treatment for him. They lived there together until her son was in his late teens, at which point Social Services became involved in their lives, and things became difficult.

Bronwyn then moved to Cornwall, where she now lives in a beautiful place, close to the sea, which she feels connects her with the Pacific Ocean that was so much a part of her North Queensland childhood. Her son lives a few miles away, in his own house, where he is supported 24/7.

Discovering the cause of autism has been a prime focus for Bronwyn. She has written and talked about the condition, and its cause is the subject of her PhD thesis. She will soon be publishing a book which is an accessible version of the ideas that underpin her thesis.

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 0747507007
• ISBN 13: 9780747507000
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224