Intelligent Love: The Story of Clara Park, Her Autistic Daughter, and the Myth of the Refrigerator Mother

Vicedo (The Nature and Nurture of Love), a philosopher and historian, chronicles the varying perspectives of psychologists, psychiatrists, and psychoanalysts studying autism from the 1940s through the 1980s. The narrative offers a close examination of the experiences of a mother, Clara Park, and her autistic daughter Jessica. Vicedo tells their story in the context of the historical, competing, and complex views people have held about what it means to be on the autism spectrum and how it should be treated. Readers learn how scientists have struggled to understand the origin of autism and how to treat it; how families that include a person with autism have searched for help for their loved one; and how people on the spectrum have looked for ways to fit into a world that is made for neurotypical people. By focusing on the Parks’ experiences, the importance of studying history and the changes in understanding of mothering and disability are intimately revealed.