Tuesday Blog: Week Three

In the book Wish by Melina Gerosa Bellows the book follows both Bella and her brother Bobby. the book takes place through Bella’s and Bobby’s life which allows the reader to see who autism affects them throughout the years. the book begins in the year 1774 when they are about 8 years old at this time autism was not widely diagnosed and strange therapies where used for treatments. Although they are twins they are very different, Bobby suffers from severe autism and Bella, on the other hand, has very mild autism. Growing up Bella has felt as if she lived in the shadow of her brother, never getting the attention she desired from her parents. Bella is bullied for her brother's condition and for being overweight.

“As hard as I strive to achieve, I feel invisible to the members of my family” (Bellows 92).

At this point in the book, Bella reached her breaking point. She could no longer hold her emotions in and hide them from her family. She has always been a good student and has always looked out for her brother. The severity of her brother's autism takes a toll on Bella and her family which detracts from Bella’s accomplishments and hard work and places most attention and affection on Bobby. This quote shows Bella’s frustration with her situation. It’s not that envies her brothers disability and the attention he gets from it, she just desires to be seen and appreciated. This quote may seem as if she wants her brother to disappear, but that is in fact wrong. All her life she has “wished” for Bobby to get better hence the title of the book.

5 Tips for Brothers & Sisters

This quote stood out to me because I've heard the exact words said by my childhood friend. Growing up she was the oldest with a younger brother who suffered from autism. Although her parents tried their hardest to treat their children equally she always felt as if she was invisible to her parents. Being her best friend I saw how much this affected her. She would often tell me about how she wanted to just give up because no matter what she would never be noticed. Now that we are older I see how this affected her growing up and I now see how it has changed her overall. Although this invisibility to one's family is a negative thing it has taught her to be self-sufficient and she now is much more mature and understands why her brother needs the extra attention. All my time spent with her and her brother also had a similar effect on me and I feel as if it has added an extra sense of maturity to my life.

Source: https://slideplayer.com/slide/6228862/20/images/33/Impact+of+Autism+on+Siblings+Relationship.jpg