JOHN ECKHARD’S

WALKING WITH LUKE

This book did not begin as pages—it began as conversations, dictated in cars, at kitchen tables, and beside a bathtub. It is not an advocacy tract, a medical guide, or a policy debate. It is something much more intimate: a raw, honest look into the daily life of a family navigating the beautiful, challenging world of Level 3 autism, severe intellectual disability, and ADHD.Written by a veteran theology teacher and father, this deeply moving memoir offers a true and accurate discovery of a boy named Luke—as he actually is, not a version softened for the telling. Through these pages, you will encounter the unique reality of Luke's world, the profound dynamics of his triplet sisters and older brother, and the brief, hopeful presence of a service dog named Risley.Most importantly, this is a story of what it means to truly see another person once we clear away stereotypes and meet them face-to-face. Through Luke, and through the family that loves him, these pages reveal something about love, about God, and about what it truly means to be human. The purpose of these pages is not merely to give you information about a diagnosis. It is to invite you into an encounter—not with autism, but with a person who lives with it.