Final Project: Cerebral Palsy in Young Adult Literature

Everyone has had those dreams where they are screaming or talking but nothing is coming out. You try moving or anything to get someone, anyone’s attention but nothing is working. Maybe at best all you can do is make some sort of sound but no one can understand you. Well what would you do if that was your life? For some it is and to those people that are living with Cerebral Palsy. Some people that are living with Cerebral Palsy are able to communicate but that does not mean that everyone can understand what they say and some may be able to move their body but not the way they intended. Yet just because their appearance makes it look different does not mean that these people can not think and have feelings like the rest of us. And for that reason their story needs to be told because they deserve to have their story told just as every one else does.

Johnson, Harriet Mcbryde. Accidents of Nature. New York: Henry Holt And Co. (Byr), 2006. There are always two sides to a story and Jean and Sara each have their own side. While these two are at a camp for what they call the “crippled” they learn a lot about each other along with the other kids that go to the summer camp. Jean the main character is constantly struggling with the “crippled” world and the “normal” world. While going through camp with Jean you start out having the same thoughts about children with disabilities but then going with Jean through her transformation you learn that maybe there is no need for a cure that these kids like their life just the way it is. Jean says, “But now I yearn for a Bible story about a cripple who isn’t cured.” (p.74) At one point everyone at the camp goes into the water and takes off all their braces, extra limbs, out of their wheelchairs and are just who they are. This shows that no matter who you are or what you have everyone is the same in the water just a body that can float. There are great insider things that one on the outside would never think about because outsiders are just never put into that situation.

Mikaelsen, Ben. Petey. New York: Hyperion, 2000.
When reading this story you can not help but to fall in love with Petey just like every other character in the story did. This is a great story telling how things use to be if you were not born “normal”. Petey who has a form of Cerebral Palsy and his friend/brother Calvin who is slower mentally and has club feet were both sent to the Insane Asylum where they lived out a majority of their life. Eventually when the laws changed they were put into certain homes to live out the rest of their lives. When people first met Petey throughout the story they started as an outsider then as they got to know Petey as a person and not as Cerebral Palsy they were an insider. It is a very compelling story and to see someone with so little who loves life the way Petey and Calvin do makes one look at their own life and see what it is that they take for granted. One of the people that Petey touched said this about him, “His incredible appreciation for life even though life hasn’t always been so good to him.” (p.154)

Trueman, Terry. Stuck in Neutral. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2002.
Right on the cover it says, “I think my father is planning to kill me.” That right there pulled me in and I wanted to see how this story was going to turn out. The book is written as if you are in the main characters head and can hear all his most deepest thoughts. The book is based around the question of what is the right thing to do. Shawn who has Cerebral Palsy can not talk or move to try and communicate with anyone. This story helps explain what a seizure might be like for someone. To most seizures seem like a scary thing but with Shawn he loves them because it is the only time he feels like he can be free. Not only can he be free but he also laughs while he is having them which are the only verbal communication that he has. It is a great book to show that even though he may not be able to communicate he can fully understand everything that is going on around him.

Matthew, Nicole , and Susan Clow. "PUTTING DISABLED CHILDREN IN THE PICTURE: PROMOTING INCLUSIVE CHILDREN'S BOOKS AND MEDIA." International Journal of Early Childhood 39.2 (2007): 65.

The article describes just how important it is to have disabled children in books so that not only the children who are disabled can see themselves in a book but also for other students to be introduced to them. That way the students are aware of what disabilities can look like and are more accepting of others. Also in the article it says how not only does it help the children but also the parents are made aware of the different types of kids that there are out there. That way they can explain to their children why a child may act a certain way or why they are they way that they are. The article is full of parents of children with disabilities that explain what it means to them for their child to seem themselves in a book and what it means for them to be included in their social lives. It is a great resource to see just why there needs to be books about disabilities and that they should not just show the child as a disability but as a regular child.

Here is some information on Autism

I got an e-mail about Autism and the flyer says that parents should bring their children. It could give anyone doing Autism for their final project a chance to talk to parents if they wanted or see if they have resources about good books at the fair.

Here is the website:
https://mail.msu.edu/imp/view.php?popup_view=1&mailbox=INBOX&index=4454&actionID=view_attach&id=2&mimecache=2c1f65b3d3829f688bc42638dbb2382b

Info for anyone doing Asian Pacific Americans

I recently got an e-mail that has information about a conference on campus.
Here it is:
-- KICK-OFF FOR ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN STUDIES CONFERENCE --

What: 3rd Annual International Asian Pacific American Studies Conference, Michigan State University
Global-is-Asian: Asian Diapora Identities in the Context of Globalization

When: April 18th w/ kick-off event on April 17th.
Where: Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center, Michigan State University

The Asian Pacific American Studies Program would like to invite you to Michigan State Universitys 3rd Annual International Asian Pacific American Studies Conference on April 18th with a kick-off event on April 17th.

This years theme, Global-is-Asian: Asian Diaspora Identities in the Context of Globalization, focuses on Asian populations in diaspora—that is, living outside their ancestral homelands. Though the definition of diaspora and its application to various populations has long been debated, in using the term “diaspora” we assert the importance of understanding Asian communities within a global context; as sharing key similarities but as far from homogeneous.

Kicking off the event, spoken word/hip-hop artist Denizen Kane will host a dynamic evening of spoken word poetry on April 17th, 2009.

On April 18th, 2009, internationally recognized activist, journalist, and scholar, Helen Zia, will address the conference as this years keynote speaker.

Please mark you calendars for this exciting event and visit our website (https://www.msu.edu/~apaspec/conf09/index.html) for information on registration, conference schedule, and more.

We hope to see you there!

Final Project

This project is turning out to be harder then I thought it would be. At first I was going to do disabilities and do down syndrome. That turned out to be a huge flop. I went to the local book stores and was disappointed with how much they actually had on disabilities. Then to even go further and be specific was even more difficult. It is just disappointing to me that I can not go into a book store and find books for disabilities. I can't imagine how the children or parents must feel when they go into a book store and can't find a book that fits what they are looking for. Therefore I had to change my subject to Cerebral Palsy. But it seemed like any book I picked up was either a self help book for a parent or the simplest form of a baby book to show you what a certain disability looks like. Also most of the books seemed to be about Autism as if it is a new fad. Yes the rate of children being diagnosed with this is going up but still doesn't mean that the rate of children having other disabilities has completely gone away. Another thing I found interesting was that the disability section was placed outside the children's area. Did they do this for a reason and if so that is really really sad.

Scholastic Bookfair

I am doing a project in the Marble Elementary School and my kids have recently gone to the book fair that they are having. I was looking around there and I only saw a very few books that actually had awards on them and then looking closely at the books there were a few that even looked like good literature. Some of the books were codes for gaming or journals, or other things that that are not really about reading. Actually looking at the books makes my cringe thinking that the parents think their children are looking at books when there are hardly any good ones. I think Scholastic should re-think the type of books they are putting out for children to buy.

Uncle Charlie

I have to share this because I was jumping up and down today because of it. First some background information.
I have an aunt and uncle who have down syndrome. My uncle has the brain capability of a 7 year old and my aunt is about a 3 or 4 year old, they are both adopted by my grandparents and are in their later thirties early forties. When I was younger my aunt and uncle lived closer to me than they do now and because I was the first grandchild I was always over at my grandparent's house. As I was getting older and able to actually walk and play it was fun to have an adult act like a child especially because I was the first grandchild I didn't really have any other kids to play with yet. I was always playing with my uncle probably getting in to trouble together and all sorts of fun. My aunt on the other hand did not care for me at first. My mother has a special bond with my aunt because my mom always calls my aunt her baby doll. Well when I came into the picture my mom had a real baby doll. Therefore at first my aunt was slightly jealous of me but then said that I was her baby doll.
Now they live out is Missouri and still live with my grandparents. Every now and then we hear stories of how they got in trouble and what not. I love hearing them because most of the time it is my aunt who likes to push my grandma's buttons. She is a lot smarter then what people want you to think. For example it was breakfast time and my grandpa had given my aunt a piece of zucchini bread and she said no toast. Grandpa continued to tell her that they can not put this kind of bread in the toaster but she insisted on having toast. My grandpa was getting angry and said, "Tammy you can have this or nothing." So she put the entire piece in her mouth and spit it out at my grandpa. My mom and I found this hilarious. Sure she might not be vocal but she sure is smart when it comes to making my grandparents angry. Another time she got mad at Uncle Charlie because he was teasing her about something so she simply got up took a flower pot and chucked it at his head.
I think that my aunt is a lot smarter than she leads people to believe. Same with my uncle. He could sit for hours in front of a TV playing a video game until he beats it. He has a lot more patience then I could ever have.
So back to why I am so excited. I went to check my mail today and I got a picture my uncle drew of his dog, me and him. I told him that I wanted a picture from him so I could put it on my fridge because I sent him a Valentine. It's the little things that make me happy and today was an amazing day because I got the picture!!!!!!

Ignorant People

There has been a lot of buzz about the show "How's Your News?" produced by MTV. I get the feeling that lots of people are against the show because they think MTV is exploiting the people on the show because they have special needs. Personally, I think that the people who think this are ignorant. It is like someone saying that you can't have a TV show because I said so. No one has the right to tell someone that they can't do what they want in life because of something that makes them different than anyone else. I have such a hard time with people who think they are all about helping children with special needs who act like the kids they are working with are something other than human. I'm here to say THEY ARE HUMAN DON"T TREAT THEM LIKE THEY ARE NOT. The other night when I was watching the show I found it so funny that one of the girls told a band that they sucked. I wanted to give her a high five because I knew that if I were to be on that show I would lie and tell the band they sounded amazing. I have a really hard time with people who don't think the same way I do about this and think they need to see it from my perspective because they are making people with special needs to not be people at all when they are.