A Friend like Henry: The Remarkable True Story of an Autistic Boy and the Dog That Unlocked his World (ISBN 9780340934012) is a 2007 non-fiction book about an autistic boy named Dale, written by his mother, Nuala Gardner.
Summary[]
Dale started showing autistic tendencies almost straight after his birth, he had a very severe case, becoming obsessed first with Mickey Mouse, refusing to wear anything without a Mickey label for some time, and later with Thomas the Tank Engine, spending hours watching the program. His parents, Nuala and Jamie Gardner, as well as his grandparents turned this to their advantage. using the expressions on the trains' faces to try and break though the autistic tendency of being almost unable to understand others' emotions.
Nuala and Jimmy received very little help from health services, and for a long time Dale remained undiagnosed, making it hard to receive professional help.
When Dale was about six the family went on holiday, to see a friend who owned some dogs. Dale got on great with them, and almost a week later, after Nuala had convinced Jimmy, Dale was the proud owner of a golden retriever, Henry. Henry helped break into Dale's autism, helping him to understand emotions in people and gain confidence in himself. By the end of the book Dale is fifteen and attending a mainstream secondary school, where no one, save himself, knows about his autism. At the end of the book Henry dies of old age.