Baltimore professor pens moving tale of raising severely autistic son

First of two parts

Mark Osteen, a professor of English at Baltimore’s Loyola University  has authored a moving portrait of life with his severely autistic son, Cameron. The book, One of Us: A Family’s Life With Autism, was published by University of Missouri Press in November 2010.  No less an expert than Dr. Temple Grandin has praised the book, calling it “a brave dad's honest diary of raising a son with severe autism who has difficulty learning basic skills.”

In 1991, when his son first began exhibiting signs of autistic behavior, Professor Osteen initially dismissed his wife’s suspicions. “Autism was so rare,” he says in his book, “ [I thought] we might as well worry about being struck by lightning.” Sadly, even families not directly affected by autism are all too aware of the disease today. According to Autism Speaks, the disease now affects one in every 110 children.

One of Us recounts the Osteen family’s long struggle to get their concerns taken seriously and get Cameron properly diagnosed. Even today, with so much more awareness of autism, their difficulties will be familiar to any family of a child with an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). Starting around the age of two, Cameron began to have issues with language development, lack of interest in socializing with peers and violent tantrums. At first, Mark Osteen and his wife were told Cameron was simply “difficult,” but eventually the issues became too drastic to ignore.

Over the years, the Osteens tried many therapies and educational programs. Some worked and some didn’t. Professor Osteen decries the current emphasis on unlikely miracle cures for autism and unproven causes of the disorder.  The alleged link between vaccines and autism is one such example. “The original study that established a link has been discredited,” Mark observes. More importantly, this emphasis diverts public attention and funding from focusing on genuinely helpful therapies currently available.

“We maintained a Lovaas-style Applied Behavioral Analysis program for Cam for five years,” Osteen says. Thanks to this intensive therapy program, Cam made steady gains in attention and skills before plateauing. Medication has also helped Cam a great deal, although the family had to go through much trial and error to find what worked for their son. Professor Osteen points out that “if medication helps, parents shouldn’t feel ashamed.”

At one point, in an effort to safely regulate Cam’s medication, he was placed in Towson’s Sheppard Pratt hospital for a month-long stay. Professor Osteen highly commends Sheppard Pratt, saying they are very helpful for dealing with children and adolescents with severe problems. Pathfinders for Autism was another Maryland organization that proved helpful to the Osteens at this time.

Much of Mark Osteen’s book is devoted to the difficult decision he and his wife made to move Cam to a residential treatment facility when he was twelve years old. As Cameron grew, his aggressive behaviors increased until it was truly difficult for his own parents to control him and be safe.Unfortunately, as autistic children grow older, resources availabe to help them are in short supply, according to Professor Osteen.

In part two of this article, we’ll talk with Professor Osteen about issues affecting older autistic children and young adults.

One of Us is available now at bookstores and online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Mark Osteen will be signing his book at the Ivy Bookshop on Falls Road on February 5. He’ll also be speaking at the Enoch Pratt Library in April. For more information on these and other events, you can visit the events page of his website at Oneofusbook.com.