NOTE: Excerpts from the book – (1% indicates location in the Kindle version of the book, instead of page numbers).
Rules (for David) by Cynthia Lord, eBook Edition 2003;
an Extended Review with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker
1% Headline ~ "Rule: No Barbie dolls in the fish tank!" "One of my old Barbie dolls sits on the gravel, her arm raised in a friendly wave..." " Barbie's pink-lipstick smile beams through the water, her long hair floating around her like a tangle of kelp."
< My Thoughts >
Although this is a children’s novel, it truly shows the poignant and humorous side of autism from a sibling’s point of view. There is so much more to the novel than what was shared here about David’s rules. There is the fictional character, Jason whose trust sister Catherine gains by sketching him. The novel lets the reader examine how there is more ability than disability evident in the main characters in this story. Everyone has an opportunity to learn and to see the world through the eyes of others in the kaleidoscope world of autism.
Excerpts from Cynthia Lord’s Novel – Rules (for David)
5% “It’s five o’clock. Let’s go to the video store!” My hands squeeze into fists.
Sometimes I wish someone would invent a pill so David wakes up one morning without autism.
But there’s no pill.
< My Thoughts> “wake up one morning without autism.”
Green (2013) tells us that smaller families have more difficulties when dealing with the autistic child. Siblings have difficulties with feeling the loss of the normal sibling s/he could have been.”
8% I write down all David’s rules, so my ‘someday-he’ll-wake-up-brother’ will know how the world works.
< My Thoughts > “…so my someday-he’ll-wake-up-a-regular-brother…”
Some say that persons with autism are “the new normal” because many have normal intelligence, but lack the necessary social and emotional knowledge. They are finding their place in society, especially in the world of technology. Because in the world of technology, you make your own rules… as long as they follow the 5 basic rules –
“These Are the New Rules of Work,” retrieved from www.fastcompany.com/3046127/the-new-rules-of-work
7% “It’s Mom!” “Let’s go to the video store!”
“You’re going to occupational therapy.” Frowning, “Let’s go to the video store.”
“You’re going to OT,” I cover David’s mouth so people won’t hear him scream.
I am twelve now and can stay home if I want, but I still like to come.
< My Thoughts > I still like to come because “…I get Mom completely to myself.”
Tsao, et al. (2012), remind us that while parenting in families of children with disabilities may include ‘favoring’ that child, parenting styles change over time. However, their siblings’ perceptions of that favoritism may persist. “Siblings may experience loneliness because parents do not provide age-appropriate communication and equal time spent with their neuro-typical children.”
Obviously, Catherine has learned to interpret her mother’s body language as ‘mom closing herself off’ and ‘settled in’ for the long wait. She has learned her fate. Again, Tsao, et al. (2012), feel that “parents are less intimate with, and less nurturing to, their neuro-typical children.” But Catherine has put a positive spin on it by ‘taking out her sketchbook’ and finding things to sketch, which will lead to changing her world forever.
References used in < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker are:
Green, L. (2013). The Well-Being of Siblings of Individuals with Autism; Journal of Neurology; Vol. 2013:1-7
Tsao, L., Davenport, R., Schmiege, C. (2012). Supporting Siblings of Children with ASD; Journal of Early Childhood Education; Vol. 40:47-54.
Rules (for David) by Cynthia Lord, eBook Edition 2003;
an Extended Review with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker
1% Headline ~ "Rule: No Barbie dolls in the fish tank!" "One of my old Barbie dolls sits on the gravel, her arm raised in a friendly wave..." " Barbie's pink-lipstick smile beams through the water, her long hair floating around her like a tangle of kelp."
< My Thoughts >
Although this is a children’s novel, it truly shows the poignant and humorous side of autism from a sibling’s point of view. There is so much more to the novel than what was shared here about David’s rules. There is the fictional character, Jason whose trust sister Catherine gains by sketching him. The novel lets the reader examine how there is more ability than disability evident in the main characters in this story. Everyone has an opportunity to learn and to see the world through the eyes of others in the kaleidoscope world of autism.
Excerpts from Cynthia Lord’s Novel – Rules (for David)
5% “It’s five o’clock. Let’s go to the video store!” My hands squeeze into fists.
Sometimes I wish someone would invent a pill so David wakes up one morning without autism.
But there’s no pill.
< My Thoughts> “wake up one morning without autism.”
Green (2013) tells us that smaller families have more difficulties when dealing with the autistic child. Siblings have difficulties with feeling the loss of the normal sibling s/he could have been.”
8% I write down all David’s rules, so my ‘someday-he’ll-wake-up-brother’ will know how the world works.
< My Thoughts > “…so my someday-he’ll-wake-up-a-regular-brother…”
Some say that persons with autism are “the new normal” because many have normal intelligence, but lack the necessary social and emotional knowledge. They are finding their place in society, especially in the world of technology. Because in the world of technology, you make your own rules… as long as they follow the 5 basic rules –
“These Are the New Rules of Work,” retrieved from www.fastcompany.com/3046127/the-new-rules-of-work
- Work from your devices… wherever you are. (For Sonny it would be lying on the floor.)
- You are on call 24/7… (Perfect for Sonny, who only naps anyway. Rarely have we ever had a full night’s sleep.)
- You go from gig to gig, project to project… (Or, room to room… as Sonny does, running back & forth to hear his favorite part of Toy Story as it plays on a loop in his room).
- The line between life & work is gradually disappearing… Live friends are replaced by social media. (Friends??? Sonny’s friends are Woody & Buzz).
- You work because you’re passionate about what you do… (Does intensely focused ring a bell?).
7% “It’s Mom!” “Let’s go to the video store!”
“You’re going to occupational therapy.” Frowning, “Let’s go to the video store.”
“You’re going to OT,” I cover David’s mouth so people won’t hear him scream.
I am twelve now and can stay home if I want, but I still like to come.
< My Thoughts > I still like to come because “…I get Mom completely to myself.”
Tsao, et al. (2012), remind us that while parenting in families of children with disabilities may include ‘favoring’ that child, parenting styles change over time. However, their siblings’ perceptions of that favoritism may persist. “Siblings may experience loneliness because parents do not provide age-appropriate communication and equal time spent with their neuro-typical children.”
Obviously, Catherine has learned to interpret her mother’s body language as ‘mom closing herself off’ and ‘settled in’ for the long wait. She has learned her fate. Again, Tsao, et al. (2012), feel that “parents are less intimate with, and less nurturing to, their neuro-typical children.” But Catherine has put a positive spin on it by ‘taking out her sketchbook’ and finding things to sketch, which will lead to changing her world forever.
References used in < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker are:
Green, L. (2013). The Well-Being of Siblings of Individuals with Autism; Journal of Neurology; Vol. 2013:1-7
Tsao, L., Davenport, R., Schmiege, C. (2012). Supporting Siblings of Children with ASD; Journal of Early Childhood Education; Vol. 40:47-54.
