This is the inspiring account of a family's struggle to break into their son's autistic world - and how a dog made the real difference.
Dale was still a baby when his parents realised that something wasn't right. His mother Nuala took him to see several doctors, before finally hearing the word 'autism' for the first time in a specialist's office. Dale's autism was severe and violent and family life was a daily battleground.
But the Gardners' lives were transformed when they welcomed a gorgeous Golden Retriever into the family. From taking a bath to saying 'I love you, Henry helped introduce Dale to all the normal activities most parents take for granted, and set him on the road to leading a full and normal life.
This is a heartrending and fascinating account of how one little boy conquered his autism with the help of a devoted family dog.
Nuala Gardner is a community nurse and qualified midwife and mother of Dale and Amy, both of whom have autism. Together with her husband Jamie, she fought the authorities to have her children's condition recognised before there was sufficient understanding of autism.