Kristine Barnett’s Memoir Shows Us the Power of a Mother’s Unconditional Love

The Spark: A Mother’s Story of Nurturing, Genius, and Autism is Kristine Barnett’s memoir detailing her experience as the mother of Jacob, a 15-year-old autistic savant who has received widespread media attention as a mathematician and astrophysicist on track to receive his PhD by the end of the year.

Jacob was diagnosed with autism at age 2. Kristine pulled him out of a formal preschool program when the instructor told her not to bring the alphabet flash cards he loved because it was unlikely Jacob would ever be able to read. Kristine began educating Jacob at home, with the goal of getting him ready to join a mainstream kindergarten.

Along the way, Kristine became an inspiration for other parents of children with autism. Her belief that every child has special talents made it possible for her to help the kids achieve more than anyone had thought possible.

She encouraged kids to explore interests in baking, architecture, storytelling, or whatever else happened to catch their eye-believing that finding a true passion would inspire them to master more concrete skills like naming colors or making eye contact while having a conversation with someone.

She states that her philosophy was inspired by her own childhood, pointing to the example of her sister who was always encouraged to excel in art even though she wasn’t what one would traditionally call a good student.

Thanks to Kristine’s hard work, Jacob was able to join a mainstream kindergarten and did quite well in public school for a few years. However, Kristine and her husband soon discovered that a public school couldn’t keep up with their son’s quest for knowledge.

Jacob ended up enrolling into college at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, skipping 7 grades and taking freshman level classes at just 12 years old. Kristine and her husband were understandably worried about how Jacob would adjust to the change, but soon found out many people he encountered didn’t even realize he had autism because their unorthodox therapies had been so successful at helping Jacob develop his social skills.

I found the number of obstacles the family encountered along their journey almost unbelievable.

After Jacob was diagnosed with autism, they had another son with a condition that caused serious physical delays. Kristine was diagnosed with lupus, Jacob’s first real friend passed away in a tragic accident, her husband lost his job, and they went through a period of time where they were eating ramen on a pretty regular basis.

It seemed like the family caught one bad break after another, yet they somehow made it through together. If nothing else, Kristine’s story shows that anything is possible with a positive attitude.

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