We Live On The Same Road
AUTISM
Hector Chang was imprisoned in his mind for over 40 years with Autism. He didn't perceive the world the same way as 'regular' people did. He didn't have the same abilities as normal people. He was cursed by a society into the sometimes brutal hopelessness in an inept system.
Hector finally moved to Ferris House with five other people who also possessed various disabling afflictions. This was where he met Chico, the first genuine friend Hector ever had. But the brutalization didn't stop just because they lived outside of the institution. The bigotry hounded them even in their own home. The triumphs and tragedies that befall these six individuals culminate in a horrifyingly vile lesson as they simply try to live a normal life in a rural neighborhood.
The cruelties that plague Hector and his new extended family continue until Hector can stand it no more. Little did anyone know Hector's hidden talents would surface to extend havoc and justice to an unjust world.
"One day when I was working residential with twelve people who had special needs, they invited me to a holiday party. I don't even remember what the holiday was. As I sat at the table with the people who lived in the house, I took a look around at everyone having a good time... just like any family enjoying the festivities. It struck me then... I no longer saw people with disabilities... I just saw people having a good time like any other family would at a holiday gathering. At that moment, I realized that we truly are more alike than we are different. This moved me to write my first novel, We Live on the Same Road."
-Keith Parfitt