Look Me in the Eye discussion

Our group read "Look Me in the Eye." I thoroughly enjoyed the book and how it was from the point of view of someone that grew up with Asperger's in a time that the world did not know what it was, let alone have a name for it. At our first literature circle meeting, my group and I agreed that the book was lagging, so to speak. After delving deeper into John's life, I realized that this likely had everything to do with his Asperger's. Sure, there were times that the details were somewhat "over-represented" and there were also times that the stories of his childhood seemed to be lacking details. However, it became apparent that the details, or lack thereof, was because of how his mind works. He had plenty of outlandish stories and also a handful of heart-breaking ones. If you can get past the first few chapters and get a better understanding of the author, it is a book I would definitely recommend, not just to teachers, but for anyone that is interested in the topic of Asperger's, anyone who knows someone with Asperger's, or just people who enjoy reading about people, in general.
I had the jobs of Discussion Director and Passage Master. I will admit that I had a little bit of trouble with the Discussion Director questions because that was my first job and, as previously mentioned, the book was "lagging" a bit in the beginning. I enjoyed the fact that everyone had a specific job and that wee changed jobs. I would have liked to do all of the jobs at one point, but that can be a goal for a later time. I never did anything like this when I was in school. Back then, it was read the book, answer the questions on the worksheet, and/or write a book report. Being that I am a little older, solo work was pretty much all I did in school. I love the idea of any and all group work, if it can be well-organized and divided up fairly. As far as literature circles go, I will definitely be incorporating this in my future classroom.

I absolutely loved the book. I listened to it in audio format and it made all the difference in its presentation. I discovered, though that book, that I am married to a high functioning Aspergarian or "Aspie". That made certain parts of the book absolutely hilarious to me because I then understood circumstances I'd run into at home and seeing how the author saw things actually made frustrating behaviors seem funny. The book gave me a lot of respect for people trying to deal with a majority of "nypicals" world and I recommend the book to anyone because sooner or later they will run into people with various levels of autism and can communicate better with them for having read the book.

The book simply rocks. Try the audio version if details cause you to lose interest, there's a reason for it to be there. Point is, if you do not have Asperger's Syndrome, you likely know someone who does or have a relative who has it. High functioning Aspies pass for being eccentric but knowing how they think helps so much to relate to them and them to you. I discovered after reading this book that I know several people with high functioning Aspergers and it has relieved me of misconceptions about their personalities or why they behave so seemingly peculiarly at times. Best book I have EVER invested the time in reading.