Monster Child

By the time her son Konner was 5 years old, Kristal Johnson was afraid of him. He was strong, angry and he barely slept, and he threw the kind of tantrums that made other parents look for a quick exit. Kristal, determined to rein Konner in, tried every parenting tactic she could find, from elaborate daily reward charts to social-skills classes to punishment. Nothing worked. The doctors said Konner was defiant, yes, but they had no real advice to give. The daycare center said: Don't bring him back. When her son was 6, Kristal finally got the call she'd been dreading. It was a call from her son's elementary school principal telling her Konner had been suspended. He'd lost his temper and punched his teacher, and he couldn't come back until his aggressive behavior stopped. That afternoon Kristal walked into the principal's office, furious at Konner and mortified, and that's when she saw him standing next to the big wooden desk: Her real son. Not the monster who terrified her, but the child trapped in that monster's body. Konner looked up at her, lips trembling, brown eyes pleading and vulnerable. She had no idea he had autism yet. But she knew her son was suffering, too, without a doubt, and she wouldn't stop short of setting him free.