I was very impressed by the front-page article in the Journal Tribune (“Cutting to the chase about family and Asperger’s,” May 13) detailing Mr. Derek Volk’s recently published book, “Chasing the Rabbit.” Having spent 45 years as a teacher and administrator in the field of education, I can deeply appreciate Mr. Volk’s fatherly efforts in raising his son afflicted with Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism, from infancy to adulthood.
I have not read the book, but my assumption can best be described as it is a detailed and committed effort on Mr. Volk’s part telling the personal story of his son’s early life challenges of overcoming the effects of Asperger’s syndrome.
Coincidentally, as recently as last January, I read Karen MacNeil’s book “Pieces that Fit,” a mother’s journey through her son’s diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome. It is a haunting insight into a Maine family’s struggle with autism. What brings this story to “light” right here in Biddeford is that Karen is an elementary teacher, having taught for 24 years in the Biddeford public school system. She is highly regarded as a committed, exemplary teacher, caring deeply for the students in her classroom.
Her book is less than a hundred pages, yet is very descriptive of her and her husband’s dedication to raising their first-born (Chandler’s) son’s struggles with this affliction. It is a compelling memoir worth the reading.
Karen MacNeil is the daughter or Mr. Paul Seavey, former principal at Biddeford High School for 17 years. I am sure that many local residents remember Mr. Seavey as a capable principal, leading BHS during the 1970s through the ’80s.
It would be very interesting to see what the efforts of Mr. Volk, Mrs. Karen MacNeil and their related stories have in common.
Robert Hodge
Biddeford
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