Mother of autistic child discovers power of poetry therapy
The Autism News | English
“Autism knocked on my door in the middle of a life I thought was under control, and settled in comfortably behind the eyes of my 2-year-old son.”
In an instant, Jennie Linthorst’s life spiraled into darkness.
Her son, Graham, was diagnosed with autism and she became emotionally paralyzed. The “original family dream” shifted and her inner peace was shattered.
Linthorst’s intimate journey as a Manhattan Beach mother with a special-needs child is told in deeply emotional – and sometimes blunt – verses in her recently published book of poems, “Autism Disrupted: A Mother’s Journey of Hope” (Cardinal House Publishing).
The poems will be discussed at 7 tonight at The Market at Santa Monica Place and at 7 p.m. Nov. 10 at Pages: A Bookstore in Manhattan Beach.
“I always wrote but never thought to do anything with my poems except keep them to myself, that is until Graham,” said Linthorst.
She has since become a certified applied poetry facilitator under the National Association of Poetry Therapy, and is the founder of LifeSPEAKS Poetry Therapy – a series of workshops that encourages clients to learn, discover and heal through poems.
“I use words as a way in; a catalyst for accessing the voice inside a person that has experienced every minute of their life,” said Linthorst, whose poems and essays have been featured on many websites and blogs.
Linthorst, a Nashville, Tenn., native who graduated from New York’s
Skidmore College with a degree in psychology, has been practicing poetry therapy from her Manhattan Beach home since 2001.
She works with clients individually as well as in group sessions, facilitating the exploration of memories – from childhood, love and loss – and the discovery of their stories through the discussion and writing of poetry.
“Poems are snapshots of moments in one’s life and those are moments that need to be captured,” she said.
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