The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

5.7 - March is Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month
To celebrate this month read a book featuring a character with mental retardation or a developmental disorder (i.e. Autism, Down Syndrome etc.), or a non-fiction book that relates to one of the disorders.
Ex.The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time or The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal

If you need suggestions OR have suggestions for books to read for this task post them here.

Anyone have any suggestions for this? I have already read The Curious Incident....

The Memory Keeper's Daughter is a good one.

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/14...

The list seems to cover a wide range of disorders including depression, anorexia, etc. so they all won't work but you can probably find something on it

I am planning on reading House Rules since it is about a boy with Aspberger's syndrome

Nicole wrote: "I am planning on reading House Rules since it is about a boy with Aspberger's syndrome"

Thank you thank you thank you!

Cait wrote: "Nicole wrote: "I am planning on reading House Rules since it is about a boy with Aspberger's syndrome"

Thank you thank you thank you!

"
You know I have to get the latest Picoult in!!!! on the waiting list at my library. 199. EEP!

Another good one is Rules by Cynthia Lord.

Lottery by Patricia Wood is a pleasant read that would fit this task well.

Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant would also work.

Nicole wrote: "Cait wrote: "Nicole wrote: "I am planning on reading House Rules since it is about a boy with Aspberger's syndrome"

Thank you thank you thank you!

"
You know I have to get the late..."

Man, I thought my #49 spot on the waiting list was bad. I didn't realize it came out so soon though; I'm excited.

Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant would also work.

So happy to see that Picoult's new book works! HEART HER!! :)

i've not read any of hers, but have a few. not sure if the ones i have would fit though.

i read flowers for algernon many years ago in grade school and it was good.that might fit this task

The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon
from the description:


"Corporate life in early 21st-century America is even more ruthless than it was at the turn of the millennium. Lou Arrendale, well compensated for his remarkable pattern-recognition skills, enjoys his job and expects never to lose it. But he has a new boss, a man who thinks Lou and the others in his building are a liability. Lou and his coworkers are autistic. And the new boss is going to fire Lou and all his coworkers--unless they agree to undergo an experimental new procedure to "cure" them."

I'm going to read Life, Interrupted: The Memoir of a Nearly Person

Another book that would work is Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's

Flowers for Algernon is a great book and I think it would work for this task.

Exiting Nirvana: A Daughter's Life with Autism is another good read that would work here.

The Horse Boy: A Father's Story, you can listen/read this for Autism as well as the narrator is the father of a boy who has Autism.

I hate the word mental retardation! What does that exactly cover? Would depression or bipolar or personality disorders be covered by this? Does it basically mean any mental health issue?

Would Animal's People by Indra Sinha count as a developmental disorder under mobility?
I pulled this from the CDC:

What are Developmental Disabilities?

Developmental disabilities are a diverse group of severe chronic conditions that are due to mental and/or physical impairments. People with developmental disabilities have problems with major life activities such as language, mobility, learning, self-help, and independent living. Developmental disabilities begin anytime during development up to 22 years of age and usually last throughout a person’s lifetime.

Try this for autism: http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show?s...

and aspergers: http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show?s...

Second Opinion by Michael Palmer
The main character has Asperger's.

My uncle has Downs Syndrome is there a book with a main character that has Downs Syndrome? I like to read things about people I love or relate to even fiction or non-fiction.

Sarah wrote: "My uncle has Downs Syndrome is there a book with a main character that has Downs Syndrome? I like to read things about people I love or relate to even fiction or non-fiction."

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

Thanks Fiona

Sarah wrote: "Thanks Fiona"

Welcome Sarah x

Bridgit wrote: "The Memory Keeper's Daughter is a good one."

Thankyou, I think my mum has this book somewhere so I'll read this :)

Mozart and the Whale: An Asperger's Love Story by Jerry Newport

I think I'll give this one a try. I just watched the movie and enjoyed it. Reviewers, of this memoir, seem to feel the book focuses more on the serious side of relationships and independent living skills for people with autism.

Cynthia, do depression, mood disorders, personality disorders, eating disorders and other similar mental health illnesses count for this task?

can i read The Silver Linings Playbook for this task?

Would The Secret Scripturework for this? The main character is a patient in a mental hospital.

Alice wrote: "Cynthia, do depression, mood disorders, personality disorders, eating disorders and other similar mental health illnesses count for this task?"

No only mental retardation and the developmental disorders.

SuzieR wrote: "Would The Secret Scripturework for this? The main character is a patient in a mental hospital."
It doesn't appear to fit this task.

SuzieR wrote: "Would The Secret Scripturework for this? The main character is a patient in a mental hospital."

Alice wrote: "can i read The Silver Linings Playbook for this task?"
It doesn't appear to have a character with one of the disorders required in this task for the description so no.

Temple Grandin is an autistic author who has written several books. There is an HBO movie coming out about her soon, which is what made me think of her for this task. I haven't read anything by her but this book looked especially interesting to me:
Thinking In Pictures: and Other Reports from My Life with Autism

Krista wrote: "Temple Grandin is an autistic author who has written several books. There is an HBO movie coming out about her soon, which is what made me think of her for this task. I haven't read..."

Krista, her book
Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior is also good and should fit this task. I've heard her speak; if you ever get the chance to do so, go. She is very interesting.

I think Lowboy would work.

Krista wrote: "Temple Grandin is an autistic author who has written several books. There is an HBO movie coming out about her soon, which is what made me think of her for this task. I haven't read..."

Definitely would recommend this too! I've worked with autistic children for about 7 years and the mother of the children recommended her book to me and I remember finding it fascinating!

Cynthia, does a split personality count as a developmental disorder?

what counts as mental retardation? we don't use the word retard or retardation in the uk anymore. what is meant as that? can someone list for me all the illnesses that will count for this task because I'm very confused! i would have thought that a personality disorder was a developmental disorder as your personality takes longer to develop or doestn' develop as 'normal' people do but cynthia has ruled that out. I'm confused!!!!!!

Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: mental retardation
Function: noun
: subaverage intellectual ability that is equivalent to or less than an IQ of 70, is present from birth or infancy, and is manifested especially by abnormal development, by learning difficulties, and by problems in social adjustment —mentally retarded adjective

Wikipedia Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_r...

Alice wrote: "what counts as mental retardation? we don't use the word retard or retardation in the uk anymore. what is meant as that? can someone list for me all the illnesses that will count for this task beca..."

From Wikipedia:

Developmental disability is a term used in the United States to describe life-long, disabilities attributable to mental and/or physical or combination of mental and physical impairments, manifested prior to age 18....This use of the term is synonymous with the use of the term learning difficulty in the United Kingdom, and intellectual disability in Australia, Europe, Canada and elsewhere. Cognitive disability is also used synonymously in some jurisdictions.

Examples include mental retardation, cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder, various genetic and chromosomal disorders such as Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

Hope that helps.

Here's a GR List of Autism in Fiction:
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/88...

I read a book recently that would fit into this category. I'm not sure whether it struck a chord because I have a child with autism- but it made me cry in parts. The mum absolutely devoted her life to helping her little boy with cerebal palsy develop after being told that he would never walk or talk.
Blue Sky July: A True Tale of Love, Light and 'Impossible Odds'Nia Wyn
It is written as a diary- so is quite a quick read.

My son has Down syndrome. There are many memoirs available, that I think would be interesting for a general audience. Road Map to Holland: How I Found My Way Through My Son's First Two Years With Down Syndrome by Jennifer Graf Groneberg is a good introduction to these. Michael F. Berube's Life As We Know It: A Father, a Family, and an Exceptional Child offers a father's perspective, and the compilation Gifts: Mothers Reflect on How Children with Down Syndrome Enrich Their Lives, edited by K.L. Soper, collects essays from many parents on the experience of parenting a child with Down syndrome. (There is a new volume, Gifts 2: How People with Down Syndrome Enrich the World, as well.) She's also written her own book, The Year My Son and I Were Born: A Story of Down Syndrome, Motherhood, and Self-Discovery, that I haven't gotten to yet.

Finally, Count Us In: Growing Up with Down Syndrome, by Jason Kingsley and Mitchell Levitz, is remarkable for its authors, two young men with Down syndrome. It is written in dialogue form, and I find their perspectives fascinating--their differences are significant, which only highlights their friendship

Petra wrote: "Cynthia, does a split personality count as a developmental disorder? "

No that would be a personality disorder.

If you like children's/YA fiction, Rules by Cynthia Lord was great and was instantly "disappeared" from my classroom so it seems that others liked it as well ;)

Thanks guys

Would The Rescue work for this task since the main characters son has severe disabilities?

Expecting Adam is a memoir about a woman's pregnancy with a baby with Down's Syndrome-that would work too.

Would either of these work?
Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism by Jenny McCarthy
Does She Know She's There? by Nicola Schaefer (I believe the main character has cerebral palsy)