There is denial, said Bruce and Shirley Fett, who have two autistic sons in San Diego city schools. At first, the Fetts said, they believed the problem would be fixed if they were more assertive. Then there is anger. Parents want someone to blame. Bruce Fett said a parent begins to look for causes in things such as overhead power lines.
Anger gives way to bargaining.
If Brock, now 10, has to be autistic, maybe in compensation he will be a world-class pianist, Shirley Fett said she remembers thinking. The Fetts and others said there is no shortcut from diagnosis to acceptance. Time passes in slow weeks of tests, frustrations and the search for antidotes. Eventually time might deliver acceptance of the imperfect. The power of parents Thousands of families have been on the journey.