He is easy to love, affectionate, and friendly. He is moody and unpredictable. Vulnerable, sweet, devoted to family. Impulsive, strong, and overflowing with emotion. Dreaming of home, always. Never quite at home, anywhere. This is Connor, a puzzle his family and caregivers have worked long and hard to solve, a boy who lives at the intersection of autism and mental illness. It isn’t so much a rare place — as many as half of autistic children suffer from mental health problems — but it can be a deeply baffling one. The overlap between these afflictions is hard to untangle; diagnosis and treatment can be very difficult. And a health care system meant to help can instead be frustrating, even harsh. Photography by Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
Connor Biscan stood atop a small rock and searched the sky for the balloons he had lost at a family gathering in Nelson, N.H. on Labor Day weekend. Connor had flown the balloons in an open field behind his great-grandfather’s house. When the kite string broke and the balloons snagged on a tree, Connor became anxious. His mother, Roberta Biscan, praised him for remaining calm. As a baby, balloon was his first word. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
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