This paper is an analysis of the book, Ryan: A Mother's Story of Her Hyperactive/Tourette Syndrome Child, by Susan Hughes, a first-person narrative of a mother's struggle to understand, deal with, and correctly diagnose the problems she encountered in raising her second child. The book is especially useful for the social work professional because it portrays a complex and difficult situation from the perspective of the nonprofessional who first encounters it. Hughes shows the frustrations that a layperson confronts in coming to terms with the fact that a problem exists and the obstacles that often stand in the way of getting help from the social work and medical community. The book reminds professionals that the problems with which they are trained to deal originate with individuals who usually do not have the training to diagnose them but who must deal with the consequences every day. The helping professions exist to ease the suffering caused by medical, psychological, social, and economic problems experienced on a personal level, and the caring professional must be sensitive to the needs of individuals and families in trouble in order to form effective working partnerships.
Susan and Jim Hughes were the proud parents of a healthy, normal 3-year-old daughter, Julie, when Susan became pregnant with their second child. The pregnancy was difficult; doctors estimated that the baby would be very small at birth, though this estimate turned out to be wrong. Ryan James Hughes appeared to be a full-term, healthy baby when he was born. Hughes (1990) writes, "Little did we know that sunny, summer morning that our lives would be changed so dramatically by that kicking, crying little fireball that wiggled in his father's arms" (p. 5).
Throughout Ryan's first year, he proved to be a much fussier, more restless baby than his sister had been, but the family was able to adjust. His parents assumed that Ryan's differences were primari...