Book Details Father's Journey To Accept Son's Autism

DALLAS -- Fatherhood did not go as planned for Dan Burns.
He spent decades seeking to rescue Ben, the youngest of his three children, from autism. The journey did not yield the ending Dan wanted. Ben's autism continues, with Ben now 22.
But the effort to save his son might have ended up saving the father.
"He changed me from a human doing into a human being," says Dan, 64, at the Observation Tower at the Arbor Hills Nature Preserve, one of the many parks where he and Ben enjoy regular bike rides. As he talks, Ben wanders off to sit on a wall where he can gaze at the treetops and the city below. It's a special spot where Ben is content to be quiet for an extended period of time, his father says.
"A human doing is someone who measures his self worth by his accomplishments, adding lines to his résumé. But it's not what you do or what you accomplish that counts, it's becoming who you are."