Claire at Life with a Severely Disabled Child posted a link to this interesting e-zine called The Complex Child. I haven't seen it before.
For any New Yorkers out there, The Sprout Film Festival has posted its schedule of 50 films related to developmental disability this April.
And I was interested to see this LA Times book review of the memoir Twin, by Allen Shawn, the composer and son of legendary New Yorker Editor William Shawn. I had read Allen Shawn's earlier memoir Wish I Could Be There about phobias. Twin looks at how his parents' decision to institutionalize his twin sister Mary, who had autism, at age 8, affected him. The two had shared a room.
"The problem of Mary's sudden departure for me," he writes, "was that it never seemed like a rescue but only a punishment: an expulsion, an exile. To me there was nothing wrong with Mary." This is a book I'd like to read.
Do you have any book recommendations for us?
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I've been reading a lot about the Shawn book and just saw Wallace Shawn last week here in Los Angeles. I remember learning about the playwright Arther Miller's child, who was institutionalized at a young age and ignored for most of his life by his family. The whole thing is deeply sad, but I do look forward to reading the book.
I don't read many autism books anymore about other people's journey's.
But there is a list of books I have read and some I have simply flagged on my goodreads profile at http://www.goodreads.com/fw2books There is a shelf for autism and one for non-fiction.
Hi Louise,
When one has children, we often ask ourselves, "Could I be a better parent?" Or, "Am I doing enough?" In turn, children think, Why did my parents want me, and am I loved. I also believe that these questions are more poignant for parents and children with disabilities, especially in later years. Therefore, I recommend, "For One More Day" by Mitch Albom. For, although this book does not adress or mention disability, the love between and child is not only immeasurable and everlasting, but it can, sometimes, save a life.
Matt Kamaratakis
Matt
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