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Sharon M. Draper

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Here is a link to order a copy of the book to read yourself!

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Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper follows the story of a girl with Cerebral Palsy from the point of view of her thoughts. The girl's name is Melody and she is non-verbal, so she is unable to speak, but it does not stop her from being able to communicate through her thoughts. Melody is quite witty and actually has a photographic memory. The book is titled the way it is because Melody feels as if she is going to go out of her mind due to many people around her assuming she is unable to be intelligent or have thoughts because of her physical appearance. Despite not being able to do the things most people can such as feed herself, walk, or talk; she is able to take the reader through her experiences, struggles, and her accomplishments as well.

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Cerebral Palsy is a congenital disorder that heavily affects movement by also affecting muscle tone and posture. It most commonly develops in early childhood, but is often caused by abnormal brain development before birth. Common symptoms can include difficulty moving/ walking,
problems with speech, and sometimes the inability of both. There is no cure for it, but there are many forms for treatment to help. It is important to know and understand that Cerebral Palsy does not affect the intelligence or sentience of a person.

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Here is a link to the CDC's website for more information about Cerebral Palsy.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common motor disability in childhood. Learn more facts.

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We may not have specifically mentioned Cerebral Palsy in class, but they could fall under the guidelines of needing Special Education. This is not because they are unintelligent, as it is for all other students who are in a Special Education program. It is because they have needs for resources to learn properly and each one of these children deserve that opportunity to learn. Although IEP's or 504 plans may vary by each child with Cerebral Palsy, it is important that educators do what is best for the child as an individual.

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I really liked this quote and thought it was relevant to the book and Special Education.

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The connection of this book to the real world is that there are many people who are dealing with having Cerebral Palsy every day of their lives. It is not something that is easy to ignore or live with, so it is important that everyone is treated with the same respect. Although it varies on symptoms by different cases, they all are still people who have their own intelligence, thoughts, and opinions.

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While I don't have any personal connections with anyone with Cerebral Palsy, I do have connections with people who may experience the same feelings and struggles that Melody has. My younger brother has Sensory Processing Disorder. It is something very hard to understand whether you are experiencing it or dealing with someone with it. For my brother, his senses are either very heightened, numbed, or he completely unable to process how he is feeling. For example, my brother is unable to drink any carbonated beverages because he feels like they hurt his tongue and mouth which is dislike many people who drink soda like me. When my brother was a baby, he was also prematurely born so his lungs are underdeveloped. He was unable to communicate the uncomfortable feelings as he was unable to talk until he was 3 years old. He really has come a far way and is honestly the most intelligent of all my siblings including myself of course.

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I was first interested to read this book because of one of my favorite television characters. This character is Walter Jr. from Breaking Bad. While the show is about a chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with cancer and he starts cooking and selling methamphetamine to leave money with his family after he dies. He chooses this because his wife is 8 months pregnant and his son, Walt Jr., has Cerebral Palsy. Throughout the show, the viewer sees Walt Jr. struggle to move and speak, but really pushes through to live a normal teenage boy's life. He has to walk around with crutches, but he still teaches himself how to drive a car. He also does not let his stuttering stop him from sharing his mind. A fun fact about this character is that the actor, RJ Mitte, actually has Cerebral Palsy in real life.