Maud Deckmar is a writer, lecturer and artist. She lives in a small village in the north of Sweden and has two grown-up children; her eldest - a son - has autism and is intellectually disabled. Maud gives frequent lectures and courses about her life experiences. She has worked comprehensively with quality monitoring and quality development in the area of services for people with intellectual disabilities, and has also taught courses in personal development.

• Dear Readers. 1. Unto us a child is born… 2. People around us. 3. Another baby - will I dare? 4. "Just for today" is all I can handle. 5. As if he wasn't there. 6. Lights - camera - action. 7. Pre-school. 8. A few minutes of rest in borrowed peace and quiet or The difference between real solutions and makeshift ones. 9. School. 10. The children's home. 11. It has have always been us needing the staff ­- they have never needed us. 12. Are you a bad person when you can't cope any longer? 13. Moving to his own apartment. 14. The police report. 15. When a member of staff leaves - is it because he or she has died? 16. He's started at the day centre or The Tale of Budget and Reality. 17. To forgive yourself. 18. My fears right now. 19. Moving on.

This book is written from the perspective of a Swedish mum of a boy with autism and an intellectual disability, now in his 20's. She gives a very moving and honest account of her life with her son from babyhood to adulthood. This book affirms the experience of many families of children with ASD and as such is very valuable to families and professionals alike.