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 Disabilities in Young Adult Literature Focusing on Autism and how achieving understanding inspires, educates,  and promotes growth in **ALL** students.
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media type="custom" key="11618434" width="170" height="170" || **A LWAYS** ||
 * U NIQUE**
 * T OTALLY**
 * I NTERESTING**
 * S OMETIMES**
 * M YSTERIOUS**
 * **My Inspiration**

My sub genre takes a look at disabilities in YA Lit. While that in itself is an extensively broad topic, I took a more narrow focus into disability YA lit that deals specifically with Autism. I was inspired to do this genre because after our class reading of Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco Stork and a few book tastings later, I was more sensitive and aware of how many YA lit books there are that relate to Autism. || **My try at making sense of it all...**

My paper takes a critical approach to why Autism is popular with a specific audience as well as what that says or implies of the culture reading said genre. Through some research and through my own personal ideals, I think that young adults and humans in general have this obsession with what anything that can be considered "abnormal." I go on to talk about how I believe that this is caused by our societies desperation to conform and know a sense of belonging. || Autism is defined by autismspeaks.org as:
 * **What does it mean to be Autistic?**

"A utism spectrum disorder (ASD) and autism are both general terms for a group of complex disorders of brain development. These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors. They include autistic disorder, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) and Asperger Syndrome. ASD can be associated with intellectual disability, difficulties in motor coordination and attention and physical health issues such as sleep and gastrointestinal disturbances. Some persons with ASD excel in visual skills, music, math and art."

** Additional YouTube Videos showing different types and ages of Autism: **

http://youtu.be/YmpXNXoszVM http://youtu.be/s5zjmKzc1Kc http://youtu.be/V-c50HNnPg0 http://youtu.be/riS53sCbLfo || **To fully understand and see the faces of Autism, YouTube is a really great resource that displays the many different forms of Autism.** **Here is one story about a 9 year old boy, James.**

media type="youtube" key="pOAivs58SOU" height="219" width="392" || Cynthia Lord
 * [[image:cindy_rules_2005.jpg]]


 * RULES FOR DAVID**

If the bathroom door is closed, //knock!// (especially if Catherine has a friend over).

Say thank you when someone gives you a present (even if you don't like it).

Don't stand in front of the TV when other people are watching it.

A boy takes off his shirt to swim, but not his shorts.

Some people think they know who you are, when really they don't.

No toys in the fishtank.

Book's Website: http://www.cynthialord.com/rules.htm || ||
 * [[image:bbornonblueday.jpg]]

//A Memoir of Asperger's and an Extraordinary Mind//
Daniel sees numbers as shapes, colours and textures and can perform extraordinary maths in his head. He can also learn to speak a language fluently from scratch in a week. He has Savant Syndrome, an extremely rare form of Asperger's that gives him almost unimaginable mental powers, much like the Rain Man portrayed by Dustin Hoffman.

Daniel has a compulsive need for order and routine - he eats exactly 45 grams of porridge for breakfast and cannot leave the house without counting the number of items of clothing he's wearing. If he gets stressed or unhappy he closes his eyes and counts. But in some ways Daniel is not at all like the Rain Man. He is virtually unique amongst people who have severe autistic disorders in being capable of living a fully independent life. It is his incredible self-awareness and ability to communicate what it feels like to live in a unique way that makes his story so powerful. || DANIEL TAMMET

-Real experiences with growing up with high functioning autistic savant syndrome.

Book's Website: http://www.optimnem.co.uk/born-blue-day.php || **Francisco Stork**
 * [[image:DownloadedFile.jpeg]]

Book's Website http://www.franciscostork.com/index_marcelo.php || Seventeen-year-old Marcelo Sandoval hears music no one else can hear, part of the autism-like impairment no doctor has been able to identify. Marcelo is tagged with a "developmental disorder" because of his pervasive interest in God and all things religious and because he does not relate to others as expected. He's always attended a special school where his differences have been protected. But the summer after his junior year, his father demands that Marcelo work in his law firm's mailroom in order to experience "the real world." There Marcelo meets Jasmine, a beautiful and surprising coworker, and Wendell, the son of another partner in the firm. Marcelo learns about competition and jealousy, anger and desire. But it's a picture he finds in a file — a picture of a girl with half a face — that truly connects him with the real world: its suffering, its injustice, and what he can do to fight. || A collection of teenage stories dealing with the hardships of disabilities. || **Donald R. Gallo**
 * [[image:418AidjDKIL._SL500_AA300_.jpg width="377" height="478"]]

**No official author page but praise for Gallo:** **http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/catalog/author.pperl?authorid=9616&view=sml_sptlght** || **SOME INTERESTING DISCUSSIONS ON EDUCATION WITH DISABILITIES/ AUTISM:**
 * **Want to insert yourself into the conversation further?**

http://eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED341228.pdf -Youth disabilities in edu.

https://www.disability.gov/education - Gov site, many issues addressed.

http://www.dredf.org/ - Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund || ||

**Have some insight to Autism? Wanna make some connections? Chat it up here!** include component="comments" page="Wiki Love <3" limit="10"

WORKS CITED: "Born On A Blue Day by Daniel Tammet." //Optimnem: The Official Website of Daniel Tammet//. Web. 07 Dec. 2011. . "Cynthia Lord - Rules." //Cynthia Lord - Children's Book Author//. Web. 07 Dec. 2011. . "Francisco Stork Young Adult Novelist Chicano, Last Summer of the Death Warriors, Marcelo in the Real World, Behind the Eyes, The Way of the Jaguar."//Francisco Stork Young Adult Novelist Chicano, Last Summer of the Death Warriors, Marcelo in the Real World, Behind the Eyes, The Way of the Jaguar//. Web. 07 Dec. 2011. . //Home | Autism Speaks//. Web. 07 Dec. 2011. . "Kids@Random | Catalog | Donald R. Gallo." //Random House - Bringing You the Best in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Children's Books.// Web. 07 Dec. 2011. . //YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.// Web. 07 Dec. 2011. 