Book Release
You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink…fittingly describes one mother’s experience of parenting a young adult with high functioning autism. As told in Crossing an Ocean Without a Compass, the author led her daughter Cait to the trough of independence, but the actual drinking she learned, is not something she can control. All those parental expectations of launching children into adulthood went out the window as she struggled to support Cait, helping her secure employment, find a place to live on her own, and establish a healthy social network.
While Crossing an Ocean Without a Compass doesn’t pretend to propose easy solutions, the real-life stories of one mother and her daughter, told with humor and insight, offer renewed hope to all those struggling to meet the needs of neurodivergent young adults to transition to independent and successful lives.
Testimonials
Katie Willard, Speech and Language Pathologist (SLP) points out,“The world of science and education relative to neurodiversity has grown immensely over the past 25 years. However, it has to translate to sufficient support and opportunities for independence after high school. This book is a beautiful collection of vignettes that brings the reader on the journey of one young woman and of a mother’s love for her daughter that has its own journey, through pursuing independence as a young adult.”
Heather Toulmin, LCMHC and mother of ASD teen shares, “Emerging adults and transition planning are terms those of us in the field think we know a bit about, but Lyn’s honest, first-hand account helps us to realize we don’t know enough. Lyn shares the complexities around walking the line between independence and providing support, anticipating Cait will outlive her. Although Lyn does not present all the answers for us, she asks the right questions we must all find answers to.”
Other books
Who said parenthood was easy… only parents who think there’s an equivalent GPS when navigation gets difficult. They don’t expect to find themselves in the middle of traffic gridlock. Teacher and author, Lyn Ujlaky, found herself in parenthood rush hour, faced with baffling detour signs. After twenty-four years of parenting her younger daughter on the autism spectrum, this parent is still looking for an alternate route.
She’ll Be Home in the Springtime is a first-hand account of Lyn’s experiences. By age two, her daughter, Cait had become a non-communicative wind-up toy that never ran down. From then on, no routine was simple and family members struggled with Cait’s unpredictable meltdowns. As school stretched ahead like the Great Wall of China, this mom still dreamt of ivy-covered gates, but secretly wondered if her daughter would survive kindergarten. Yet, in spite of the challenges, there was no denying that Cait had things to teach the world. And while she eventually did go to college, earning a degree didn’t guarantee success. What does?
Christine Knippenberg, MS, OTR/L, ATP shares, “She’ll Be Home in the Springtime is a chance to learn more about what life feels like across the years, raising and supporting a child with differences that forces us to recalibrate our hopes and dreams. As a reader, I’m rooting for you both. Isn’t it always about finding the way to connect with the real live person in front of us, not the myth or fantasy of what could be?”
About the author
Lyn Ujlaky has worked in the educational field for over thirty years. Her classroom-teaching experiences included working with students on the autism spectrum and their families. She holds a Masters in Evaluative Clinical Sciences and Science in Teaching. Her first book, She’ll Be Home in the Springtime, is the story about raising her younger daughter when very little was known about spectrum disorders or programs. She was an early advocate for social thinking curricula and continues to explore better ways for young adults to make successful and meaningful transitions. She lives with her husband in Vermont.
