''Strange Son: Two Mothers, Two Sons, and the Quest to Unlock the Hidden World of Autism'' is a 2007 autobiography by Portia Iversen. It follows the development of her second son, who started expressing

autistic The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

characteristics around age two. Iverson heard about a nonverbal autistic 14-year-old boy in India whose mother had taught him to speak and write poetry. Iverson decided to bring the boy and his mother to California to see if her son could be taught to speak.

Plot summary

Iversen's second son Dov, born in 1992, developed typically as an infant. At age two, he began reacting atypically to noises and also made unusual noises himself. He was

nonverbal Nonverbal communication (NVC) is the transmission of messages or signals through a nonverbal platform such as eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, posture, and body language. It includes the use of social cues, kinesics, distance (proxemi ...

at age three and fascinated by objects. These characteristics resulted in an autism diagnosis. Dov was still nonverbal at age eight. Iverson heard about an autistic boy named Tito who lived in

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

with his mother, Soma Mukhopadhyay. Mukhopadhyay had taught her son how to speak, write poetry, and explain how the poetry made him feel. Hoping Mukhopadhyay may also be able to help Dov communicate, Iverson invited Mukhopadhyay and Tito to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

for a month. In the end, Mukhopadhyay's unusual methods helped Dov start speaking with his parents.

Cure Autism Now

Iverson's husband, Jon Shestack, founded

Cure Autism Now Autism Speaks Inc. is a controversial autism advocacy organization and the largest autism research organization in the United States. It sponsors autism research and conducts awareness and outreach activities aimed at families, governments, a ...

(CAN), an organization that aimed to find a cure for autism and increase society's understanding of autistic people. A part of ''Stange Son'' salesbenefited CAN's Innovative Technology for Autism initiative. CAN merged with

Autism Speaks Autism Speaks Inc. is a controversial autism advocacy organization and the largest autism research organization in the United States. It sponsors autism research and conducts awareness and outreach activities aimed at families, governments, an ...

organization in 2007.

Reception

Abigail Zuger,

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. ...

, writing for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

,'' highlighted how the book does not gloss over problems as is common in other books that detail medical stories. Regis Schilken of Blogcritics said, "''Strange Son'' should be read by psychiatrists, psychologists, doctors, counselors, and at all costs, by politicians who must provide money for autism research." Ernst VanBergeijk of ''

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders The ''Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal A medical journal is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that communicates medical information to physicians, other health professionals. Journals that cov ...

'' found it disappointing that Iverson briefly mentioned that Dov began expressing autistic characteristics following

vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...

, stating, "This causal impression does a disservice to families" because "mountains of data finding no causal link between

vaccines and autism Extensive investigation into vaccines and autism has shown that there is no relationship between the two, causal or otherwise, and that the vaccine ingredients do not cause it. Vaccinologist Peter Hotez researched the growth of the false claim ...

References

{{Autism resources Books about autism