Lifestyle Reporter.
Saving My Sones is a personal memoir of staggering heartbreak, searing honesty and, most importantly, monumental victories. Ilana Gerschlowitz, the author is the founder and CEO of The Star Academy, a specialist autism centre that has academies around the country, and affiliated to CARD – world leaders in autism treatment.
Ilana and Martin Gerschlowitz were an ordinary South African couple – young, newly married with bright, promising futures – that is, before autism came knocking on their door. Saving My Sons tells of a journey few parents would ever want to encounter.
Unwilling to accept the hopelessness of an autism prognosis, the couple set out to rescue their son from the fortress that kept him from them. Never giving up, Ilana spent every waking moment researching the illness until she found answers. Subsequently, drawing from international experts, she has gone on to help countless children facing learning challenges.
When autism struck again, threatening another son’s future, their mission became clear. This was not a fight they were prepared to lose.
You can’t read this book and remain untouched by the tenacity of a mother fighting to give her children their best lives, achieving the impossible and beyond.
The Authors
Ilana Gerschlowitz was raised on a farm in the Free State and moved to Johannesburg to pursue a career in law. She completed her B.Com (LLB) at the University of the Witwatersrand and was subsequently admitted and practiced as an attorney. In 2009 she hosted the landmark Challenging Children Conference in South Africa which provided a platform for the presentation of the latest treatments and developments in autism. Gerschlowitz is the founding director of The Star Academy, which provides Applied Behavioural Analysis instruction to children with autism. She went on to establish Catch Up Kids, which
helps children overcome learning challenges. She continues to light the way for many parents who are battling autism or learning difficulties.
Marion Scher is an award-winning journalist, lecturer, media trainer and consultant with 25 years’ experience in the industry.