Nothing is Right

Shaping Clay #1

by Michael Scott Monje Jr.

Clay Dillon doesn't understand people. He's been told how to, but the lessons don't stick. He's six years old, and he's hoping school will be different from his experiences at his mother's daycare. He tries to tell himself the friction he has with other kids comes from them viewing him as the babysitter's kid. He's also trying really hard not to do things that make people dislike him, but when he gets confused, he hits his head and stops talking.

No one uses the word autism to talk about Clay Dillon, but it should be used. This novel takes a hard look at extreme childhood behavior, the ways adults interpret it, and the consequences to children when parents resist medical assistance or when they're too stressed to follow through with it. Based on the real-life experience of a transgender autistic woman's childhood experiences, it serves as a stark reminder that children are themselves navigating a hard world, even if adults tell themselves they've made it easy.

From the author's

"It's not easy, learning that you had a major developmental disorder that somehow slipped under the radar for years and years. The fact is, though, that they did not have the vocabulary or the support resources that are available today. When I was growing up, it was still assumed that autism was partially defined by cognitive deficits...

...it impossible for Clay to understand the differences between himself and others. Despite his high IQ and scholastic performance, and despite the fact that he knows something is different, he will always need someone else to explain to him what is different...

...It [the story] is the intersection of a family history of disorder, a socioeconomic niche that is always plagued by problems accessing support programs, and a moment in time when science and technology were almost, but not quite, capable of rising to the challenge of kids like Clay."

65,000 words

Genres: Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Fiction, Disability

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 13, 2011

About the author

Michael Scott Monje, Jr. is the pen name of Athena Lynn Michaels-Dillon, the ringleader of the Puzzlebox Collective. Michael/Athena's prior projects include the Shaping Clay blog, as well as the Shaping Clay series of novels, Mirror Project, and The US Book. Her work has appeared in Neuroqueer: The Journal, Barking Sycamores, and other venues.

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I LOVED being able to get in the head of an autistic child. I also really enjoyed thinking about the perspective of an autistic author and his perspective on his childhood (even if he says it is not completely based on his home life). Some parts of it, however, just did not sit right with me and made it hard to completely get into the story.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am constantly saying that I wish I could spend a day inside the heads of my students with autism. This book offers just that.

[Chriss Hildebrand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good insight into the challenges faced by children who go us diagnosed with brain disorders such as autism...would have loved to see more on the parents struggles as well

[Bloomix Mia Nekton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I found a new song title😊