Quarter Two Blog Plan

In the second quarter of this class, I have decided to do my reading on the fictional portrayal of Autism Spectrum Disorders. One of my main reasons for choosing fiction books instead of nonfiction is to see if these types of books are a reliable source for information on these disorders. Growing up, my best friends younger brother had Autism. I spent a large portion of my childhood at her house and with her family which made it feel as if he was my younger brother as well. As I have grown older I now see Autism represented in many ways, from books to movies and television shows, some of these are even fiction. Because of the fiction aspect to the books, movies, etc. I have decided to look deeper into what Autism really is, what it means for the person with the disorder, and if the fictional accounts of ASD are realistic. With this blog, I plan to include book recommendations, movie recommendations, and other resources for people whose lives have been affected by Autism, whether it be friends or family.

Soruce: Autismspeeks.org

Book list 

This semester I plan to read five books, of these five books I am definitely reading the first three and I might change my last two just because they are more distantly related to my topic. Altogether the page count is 1,573.

Week One, November 5th-10th: Marcelo in the Real World, by Francisco X. Stork pages 1-160
Week Two, November 11th-17th: Marcelo in the Real World, by Francisco X. Stork pages 160-312
Week Three, November 18th-24th: Wish, by Melina Bellows pages 1-174
Week Four, November 24th-December 1st: Wish, by Melina Bellows  pages 174-280
Week Five, December 2nd-8th: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, by Mark Haddon pages 1-100
Week Six, December 9th-15th: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, by Mark Haddon pages 100-226
Week Seven, December 16th-22nd: By the Light of the Moon, by Dean Koontz pages 1-180
Week Eight, December 23rd-29th: By the Light of the Moon pages, by Dean Koontz  180-380
Week Nine, December 30th- January 5th: By the Light of the Moon, by Dean Koontz  pages 380-460
Week Ten, January 6th-12th: Out of My Mind, by Sharon Draper pages 1-200
Week Eleven, January 13th-16th: Out of My Mind, by Sharon Draper pages 200-295


Essential questions

• What are some Austism Spetrum Dosorders?
• What are some signs that a person has a disorder and what age are they usually diagnosed at?
• What causes Autism Spectrum Disorders?
• What aspects of the disorders do fiction books accurately portray?
• What aspects of the disorder do fiction books get wrong?
• Is fiction a reliable source for information on life with an Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Movie list

The Story of Luke

The United States of Autism

Sounding the Alarm

Television show

 Atypical