The Horse Boy : One Family’s Adventure in Fighting Autism

How far would you go to heal a loved one?

The Horse Boy is a story of a family that traveled half way across the world to understand their son; to heal him. Journalist Rupert Isaacson and his wife, Kristin, a professor of psychology set on a journey to Mongolia, a place where horses are everywhere because of the nomadic life, to find a cure for their 5 year old son diagnosed with Autism. For almost 2 1/2 years, they were clueless as to why their son threw demonic tantrums, wailed for hours and didn’t speak like normal children.  So even though shocked at the diagnosis, at least they had an answer now but there was no cure. The child was to go for regular speech therapies that don’t guarantee immediate results.

The turning point in their life was brought by Betsy, a Texan quarter horse, cantankerous old bay mare that would show even a good rider his place when she was in no mood. There was an instant connection between the two. With Rowan, Betsy was calm and Rowan didn’t throw any tantrums on Betsy’s back. Rowan then began to speak coherently and even told the horse he loved it. That was the first time he had expressed love for anything or anyone. For an autistic child, it takes years of therapy to express self or show emotions but here a horse taught the child to express, and like an angel opened the door to Rowan’s inner world.

This incident gave hope to Rowan’s parents. After some research, they decided to travel to the mountains of Mongolia, to find the shamans who live there, and pursue a course of mystic healing.

The book was welcomed by almost all pediatric neurologists, psychologists of National Institute of Mental Health. Doctors who work with autistic patients believe that such stories provide inspiration to families. There was also criticism from some quarters that such cases of recovery actually give false hope to parents and are not tested by science. To that Isaacson clears that not every parent needs to travel to Mongolia to heal their child. It was their story. It could be something else for another family. They chose to tell their story to inspire parents who are dealing with similar problems. It is about their determination and endurance.

My take: The book is not just for parents of autistic children or psychologists. It is a must read for all parents who are quick to compare their children, who are ever so curious to see their newborn crawl, walk, speak and achieve all milestones before time and often are disappointed when the baby falls short of their expectations. Many times such illness causes rift between adults and it becomes a blame game for parents but here it tells us to not lose hope and be there for each other in trying times. It also tells us how nature and animals have a connection with humans and that the world is for all of us to co-exist.

The book will leave us misty-eyed and inspire us to appreciate our children and family; how togetherness has the strength to heal big problems. It will also make an interesting read for anyone who likes real-life adventurous travel.

It is time for us to open eyes to ancient Eastern methods of healing and recovery and not to shun them altogether. Shamanism comprises of a range of traditional beliefs and practices concerned with communication with the spirit world. The shamans saw Rowan’s condition less as a malady. An extensive study of Shamanism would come under cognitive neuroscience.

The Documentary: ‘The Horse Boy’ is also an award winning 94 mins documentary of this inspiring journey.

In the documentary, his mother asks, “Who is to say that we are normal and he is sick?” A similar question was asked by the maker of 15 Park Avenue that I reviewed here. Who’s to say which state of mind is more real?

Rowan is seven now. He is educated at New Trails, a special centre set up by his parents near Austin, Texas, with the money from their publishing advance. His father says, [link] “We went away to Mongolia with a kid who was subject to neurological fits, who was incontinent and completely cut off from his peers. He is still autistic, but he’s no longer suffering from these major dysfunctions which were impairing his quality of life – and ours.”