Asperger Lit: Is Mr. Darcy on the Spectrum?

Diagnosis in retrospect is all the rage in ASD circles. Was Einstein autistic? Isaac Newton? Thomas Jefferson? If one can attempt to label historical figures, why not try literary characters? In many cases there is at least as much evidence. Mr. Darcy comes to mind with his foot-in-mouth people skills. Bartleby the Scrivener and Sherlock Holmes are, without a doubt, classic examples. Could this become a new parlor game? Join in the fun and send us your candidates!

All this, however, is merely a headline grabbing intro to a discussion of the growing trend toward Asperger's characters in children's literature. Mark Haddon's adult best-seller The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night quickly made the crossover into YA territory. Now there are a number of new children's novels that offer peeks inside the ASD brain. These are not didactic picture books aimed at developing clasmates' tolerance (though there are some fine examples out there: Ian's Walk comes to mind). These are three intermediate level novels with strong voices and highly readable stories.

The Very Ordered Existence of Merilee Marvelous, a first novel by Suzanne Crowley, focuses on its heroine's quirky world view. Merrilee has a schedule, totem possessions, ironic verbal quirks ("Stupid. Stupendous."), and well-developed cushions against human contact -- none of which stand in the way of (or stand in for) a full-blown characterization. Merrilee is perfectly aware of the level of harassment she faces but has her pains and pleasure well organized. The conflict Merrilee faces is the intrusion on her "very ordered existence" (VOE in her own parlance) of three potential allies. Nurse Veraleen intrudes at home. Wannabe boyfriend (!) Gideon makes school confusing. And tenacious Biswick follows her around just about everywhere else. Biswick has fetal alcohol syndrome. Friendship with him, from Merilee's point of view, is just another nail in her coffin when it comes to being defined as a "retard" -- and yes, the word is bandied about freely. Can she overcome her irritation at these intrusions? Will she have somewhere to turn when her 'VOE" is inevitably upset in a big way? Crowley offers a delightfully off-the-wall Southern Gothic setting (who knew that Pigglie Wigglie stores had "butt spiders"?) but keeps Merrilee on solid ground throughout. Truly -- "stupendous."

Rules by Cynthia Lord takes the point of view of an ASD sibling. Catherine is an intensely caring and supportive sibling. Like many "sibs" she's had to earn her mensch-hood early in life. From hard experience, she's learned to be very specific about the "rules" she lays down for her younger brother: toys do not go in the fishtank, when outside you can take off your shirt but not pants, etc. Still, she longs for normalcy and embarrassment-free friendships. She shares the usual adolescent fears of being viewed as an oddball. A developing friendship with a young paraplegic, however, has the effect of putting a lot of self-consciousness into perspective.

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd skews a little closer to The Curious Incident in that its ASD character is intent on solving an actual mystery. Ted takes a clear-eyed analytical approach to the disappearance of his cousin Salim after a holiday ride on the London Eye. Stressed-out family members shunt Ted aside to keep him from upsetting Salim's mom with what they are sure will be inappropriate comments. Older sister Kat has a particularly short-fuse where Ted is concerned, and takes pain to coach him in important people skills (aka, lying). Later she comes to recognize the value of his unique perspective. The mystery is a good one, with many clues a young reader can reason through, but enough twists to keep the pages turning.

With ASDs appearing in something like one in every 150 births, the ASD character is bound to turn up with increasing regularity in our classrooms and in children's literature. Get used to it. Better yet, appreciate it.

We're baaaaaack . . .

It isn't over! Blogging is fun -- and gives one an excuse for a "virtual high-five." We have been at our district tech camp for the past couple of days. This is an oasis of tech support with mini-lessons offered on demand but mostly the gift of time to get a handle on all one's onerous little tech projects.

This year we have managed to get all the critical documents (for which we are responsible) onto our website. Instead of sacrificing trees we will direct all our school staff to appropriate links for district policies on internet use, selection/retention policy, etc. Even better we have set up multiple accounts on Library Thing and placed links on the website: one is for students and parents, the other for staff, with appropriate tags for each. This way we can regularly update our new book offerings and alert teachers about new holdings in their curriculum areas, recommend new read-alouds, and let the community know that their tax dollars are being well spent.

We also took an hour or so and cleaned up the old bookmark bar -- and sorted everything neatly into MyDelicious. What a wonderful tool -- and frankly easier to navigate than the browser bookmark lists as well as accessible from any computer.

Next time: Voice Thread!

Thing 23: Say Au revoir and not good-bye (or is it neither?)

The prompts:

What has changed as a result of this experience?  We are much more comfortable navigating multiple windows, bookmarking, sharing, feeding, gathering (and dispersing) lots of informational screens quickly and comfortably.  Confidence has been gained, vocabulary has been expanded (do you speak 1337?) and fun has been had.

What were our favorites?  We love mashups and image generators (and hadn't even heard the words before).  We have enjoyed linking to fellow book lovers and librarians through Facebook, Ning, and The Library Thing.

Connecting with other 23 "thing-ers"?  Not so much.  The best connection was when we saw each others' work on the Declaration of Independence.  We hope that once the push to finish "things" is past, we can share more relaxed camaraderie hanging around the old Ning site.

Unexpected outcomes?  Goodness, our keyboarding has improved! Mousing, too, and the ability to juggle multiple open windows, links, tabs, etc.  But in all seriousness, it has opened the door to some amazing discussions with the teens in our life.

What to do differently?  Is there a format that would allow the personal responsibility of blogging to connect with a more social format so there would, indeed, be more built-in connection with fellow "thing-ers"?  We had hoped (and expected) greater opportunity to actually JOIN an online community!

23 More Things?  Why, yes, I would!

One sentence?    "No, I'm not goofing around on the web, I'm working on my online course!" 

Thing 22 -- Keep Going!

How to work blogging into one's day and make it meaningful...? Hmmm. As one responsible for staff training in technology, we find it rarely goes over well when one tries to impose additional responsibilities on already overwhelmed staff. So the question is, what job that already exists can be improved or made redundant by the new technology.

Can hardcopies be replaced by posting online? Think about library information, appropriate internet usage guidelines for staff, new book lists or reviews, class schedules, calendars, "tip of the week" -- if the habit has been to plop copies in staff mailboxes, how about putting a link in an e-mail instead? Now that's a document that can't be lost on a messy desk, can be accessed from anywhere, and months later will still be there when, inevitably, someone calls to say they've lost their copy.

And when new ideas are needed, we now have a new and exciting way to find out how others in our field have already succeeded. Of course, we can share as well. Everyone saves time when we're not busy reinventing the wheel.

In short, don't do Web 2.0 too, do it instead!

As to some specific and immediate ideas, Miss Shelved hopes that if she takes a moment to record a book just read she will be less likely to forget that she's read it.

Thing 21 -- even MORE social networking

Visit 23 Things on a Stick

This was fun. We had jumped the gun and joined the 23 Things Ning from Facebook (not even realizing that it was "Ning"-based) so it was surprising to be greeted by name and have a message waiting (thank you, Gale). Had fun adding an old Media Center logo to the photo collection and proudly added our badge.

Gather was less interesting. It seemed rather too self-centered: too many aspiring authors begging for attention rather than a true sharing of the love of literature. Professional review journals are still important even if anyone can chime in with an online opinion -- and an ethical "reader advisor" does not review on demand. Claques and trolls are presented with an open season here.

WebJunction is terrific: we immediately signed up for a Webinar on creating a technology "Petting Zoo" -- that is to say, how to create online "play" that teaches online skill. Nifty idea for elementary media?

We also joined the Teacher/Librarian network and its Elementary subnetwork and entered a discussion of what are the most important things to do on reopening each fall. Lots of excellent ideas and reminders. Time does fly and we'll be back in our buildings in a couple of weeks.

We did enjoy the PC Magazine satire comparing social networks to more physical hangouts, from the undergraduate trashy to the expense account fabulous. Once again it confirms our initial impression that any social opportunity, real or virtual, can be grand if one is there with the right people.

Thing 20 -- or "My Face", er, "Spacebook", er, whatever...

Well, we are in (Facebook) and our significant other (as feared) already has the page tagged, photo-filled, wallpapered and, in general, filled to the brim.  Clearly, this is an activity prone to addiction.  By the time Miss Shelved checks in later in the week she is likely to have potential "friends" in the hundreds.  One supposes this is flattering as well as time consuming.

Groups joined?  23 Things on a Stick, of course, plus Librarians on Facebook and a couple of international Gilbert & Sullivan groups.  Even the deepest dyed Victorians have a web presence it seems.  

As the the "fastest growing" claim, the web is fickle.  There will be a new hot presence soon if not already.  One suspects that if the old-fogy librarians are joining, Facebook is already passe. Not far off the topic, for example,  teens of our acquaintance tell us that Second Life is already fading due to too much corporate and institutional presence as well as attacks from Trolls (sociopathic hackers).  Keeping alert is never the same as blazing the trail.

We did poke about in MySpace (and not for the first time, as it has been a bone of contention at our district middle school/high school level in recent years).  We looked at library pages.  One can only agree with the blogger (see resources) who wondered if teen patrons really wanted to "friend" their libraries on line.  On the other hand, libraries who actually offered services (as opposed to a theoretically hip presence) online were making an impact.  Readers' advisories, catalog links, venues for recommending new materials and/or  services all allowed users to connect better and ask for what they need. Can't argue with that.  This does, however, require that someone is actually  listening.  Too often (and Miss Shelved will not deny that the shoe fits...) web pages are created in a joyous frenzy of newly acquired skill -- and then left to languish, out of sight and out of mind. 

 

Trolls, lulz, and Web 2.0

"Technology, apparently, does more than harness the wisdom of the crowd. It can intensify its hatred as well." Mattathias Schwartz, The Trolls Among Us, NYT Magazine, Aug 3, 2008.

Watch for this Sunday's New York Times Magazine for an article on the anarchic downside of Web 2.0.  It is unfortunate that, for some people,  open access encourages anonymous cruelty and destruction, made all the more fun when those in on the joke can gang up on the rest of us. 

Surely this kind of behavior makes it all the more necessary that those of us who are responsible adults (of whatever age) keep up to date.  Online "cool" must not be the privilege of only the irresponsible.  Maybe if teacher/librarians are always able to know at least a little something that our kids do not, they will be better able to accept our guidance about online safety and civility. In becoming part of the interactive web, we lead by example.  We may not be the bleeding edge in tech savvy, but we can set a standard for civil discourse, common sense and decency.  Don't let the Trolls win.