The Unlocking

The Unlocking unfolds in pandemic-stricken Melbourne, charting one family’s desperate battle against the escalating behaviour of their autistic toddler. Amid the lack of in-person services, Harry exhibits severely restricted eating, obsessive-compulsive tendencies, crippling separation anxiety, and a demand avoidance that impedes every function in his young life. Harry meets the description of Pathological Demand Avoidance, a sub-type of autism that is not yet recognised in Australia, where an individual exhibits an anxiety-based need for control by avoiding the ordinary demands of living.

During a break between lockdowns, and with much trepidation, the family embark upon a journey with applied behaviour analysis (ABA) therapy. ABA is an intensive therapy considered the gold standard in early intervention for autism, but with a controversial past. The outcome is life-changing. Beneath the veil of dysfunction and anxiety, they discover an outrageously creative, highly intelligent, and hilarious little boy.

The Unlocking is an atypical memoir spanning five epic years—agonising and wretched, hilarious and triumphant, offering solace and hope to others while shining a spotlight on a little-known profile of autism. It is an ableist’s humbling lesson on disability.