Let me tell you a little about myself. I don’t like to talk on the telephone. Stereotypically, that is unusual for a female, but I am finding out more and more that I am not the only one. Granted, most of the people that understand me are men who also do not like to talk on the phone. I think it is perhaps that I am not comfortable with “idle chit chat”. Quotes because that is my opinion. I like to get to the meat – to the facts. Jump straight to my purpose.
I am also slightly uncomfortable with carrying on a conversation, partially because you are unable to edit what has already been said. You cannot take it back to correct it. I don’t always get what I am trying to say out in an understandable way the first time. I dislike repeating myself. I’ve discovered in the last week that I have a tendency to jump over polite introductions and salutations and gratuities right to my all important question or answer. Later I feel bad for striking out someone else’s words.
Emailing, texting, and writing have really opened up a door for me. It is where I talk. I don’t have to send until I feel that I have gotten it properly written. And I don’t have to send at all. Sometimes, just jotting it down, gets it out of my system. And then, when I receive email, I have a chance to digest or savor the words. I am not expected to immediately respond. I can think first. Of course, there are still problems… People have of a tendency to read between the lines. They add their own emphasis, feelings or sarcasm where it may or may not have been intended. Hence the emergence of emoticons.
Anything But Typical is a novel written from the point of view of an eleven-year-old boy diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder. His mother prefers the term Nonverbal Learning Disorder. Jason Blake was diagnosed when he was four-years-old. One of his strongest markers, symptoms is his silence which is palpable. Jason understands that he is expected to respond to people when he is spoken to. Jason is aware that he is expected to look the person in the eyes during a conversation. These are things, for various reasons, he simply has trouble achieving. When he attempts to comply, his efforts often backfire.
However, “When I write, I can be heard. And known. But nobody has to look at me. Nobody has to see me at all.” And in writing, Jason thrives. Jason belongs to an online community known as Storyboard. He has for three years. Storyboard is a place where people can write fan fiction for beloved series both in print and in cinema such as Harry Potter and Star Wars. Jason prefers to upload his original stories to “miscellaneous” knowing that much of Storyboard’s readership flocks to the fan fiction. So Jason is startled when a girl his own age decides to tell him via email that she enjoys his stories and shares her own. And Jason begins a fantasy where he has a girlfriend who will finally accept him just as he is.
So am I autistic if I so easily identify with the character of Jason and his conflict? No, but it is amazing to me how the more we find ourselves atypical of the general population, the more we discover that we are all Anything But Typical. This book could have easily been the story of my middle school years as well. I was different. And I am still eccentric to some extent.
I would recommend this book to middle schoolers everywhere in the interest of encouraging our uniqueness as well as supporting our sameness. We are all in this life together, working for and against each other for similar purposes – to be seen, heard and accepted for who we are.
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