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"This is going to take a while. So much is stuffed inside my mind. I have lots to say and just one thumb to say it with. I guess I'll start at the very beginning..." (p. 293)

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"And the mad decided that i was not going to sit at home like a kicked-around puppy. I was gonna show up and let everybody know they didn't beat me." (p. 266)

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"I just sit there. The morning started out like a crystal, but the day has turned to broken glass." (p. 260)

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The day of nationals, Melody, her parents, and Mrs. V all arrive at the airport for their flight. In a turn of events, the group is informed that their flight has been canceled due to an incoming storm. Unfortunately, there is no possible way for Melody to get to the competition on time. Melody then learns that the rest of her team members and Mr. Dimming all went out to breakfast early in the morning. They were able to make an earlier flight and were on their way to D.C. without her.

Melody and her family are devastated. They worry the team purposely left Melody behind because of her differences. Melody returns home and lays in her bed while her classmates compete without her. Although, without Melody's support, the team got ninth place.

The following Monday, Melody decides to go to school to show her strength and perseverance. In the midst of a huge storm, Melody's mom struggles to get Melody into the car and becomes overwhelmed with frustration. Suddenly, Melody spots her little sister Penny run outside and behind the car. Melody screams and thrashes at her mom to try and stop her from driving. Due to her anger, Melody's mom does not listen and scolds Melody for her behavior. Her mom starts the car and backs right into Penny.

Melody's parents and Penny head to the hospital while Melody stays back with Mrs. V. Melody blames herself for the accident and fears Penny has brain damage and her parents will have "two broken children." Thankfully, Penny only took damage to her legs and will be okay.

The next day, Melody returns to school. She enters Mr. Dimming's room and immediately asks the class why they left her at the airport. The students make excuses such as how Melody would take too long to eat breakfast. Melody learns it was Rose's responsibility to call Melody about the early flight, but Rose and the other students agreed to leave her behind instead. Afterwards, Melody knocks their trophy on the floor and shatters it.

In the end, Melody starts writing her autobiography project for her class. She decides to start from the very beginning and writes her story.

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“How will being on the winning team change your life at school?” I thought that was a good question. “Not much,” I admitted. Then the reporter waited patiently while I took the time to tap the right words. “Maybe kids will talk to me more.” (p. 225)

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"'I'm very proud of Melody. I regret I underestimated her, and I'm glad to have her on our team.'" (p. 190)

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Every year at Melody's school, a team of fifth and sixth graders are chosen to attend the Whiz Kids Competition. The winning team of the local competition gets to go to nationals in Washington D.C. and compete against schools from all over the country. In order to choose their team, one of Melody's teachers, Mr. Dimming, holds a practice test in the inclusive classroom. Melody, with the help of her Medi-Talker, takes the test and receives a perfect score. Even though Mr. Dimming continues to doubt her intelligence and her classmates accuse her of cheating, Melody takes the official test to try out for the quiz team. Once again, Melody receives a perfect score, to which Mr. Dimming states no one has done in his 15 years of teaching. The team is then formed of four alternates and four team members, including Melody and Rose.

For the next two weeks, Melody and the rest of her teammates stay after school to practice for the competition. The other students move through the questions at a rapid pace, but Melody cannot contribute at such a speed. She, however, listens closely and remembers every fact they review.

Soon enough the time came for the team to attend the local competition. Melody worries about being on live T.V. and fears people may judge her for the way she looks. She gains more confidence when she sees the producers created a special answer board that is at the height of her wheelchair. The students excel throughout each round and end up winning the competition; earning their spot in nationals. News of the team's win spreads quickly. Although, it is Melody's picture that is plastered on the front page of the newspaper. Melody realizes that she is receiving so much attention because of her disability and she feels guilty that her teammates are not showcased in the same way.

The following day, Mr. Dimming announces the six students who will represent their school at nationals. Once again, Melody and Rose make the team. Melody and her family are ecstatic and cannot wait to go to D.C. Finally, Melody can show the world how intelligent she truly is.

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"But these classes are supposed to give kids like me a chance to interact with what everybody else calls the 'normal' students. What's normal?" (p. 90)

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"When I think about it, I realize I have never, ever said any words directly to my parents. So I push a couple of buttons, and the machine speaks the words I've never been able to say. 'I love you'" (p. 138)

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"Butterscotch doesn't care that I can't talk to her---she knows I love her. She just gets it" (p. 66)

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Inclusion classrooms, also called inclusive classrooms, can benefit all students. Learn about four ways being in an inclusive class can help kids.

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Melody's school transitions to using the inclusive classroom starting in her fifth-grade year. This transition means that the kids from H-5 get to attend their specials classes, like music, with the general education children. Melody also gets a personal aid, a young woman named Catherine who helps her communicate in the classroom. Some of the new children judge Melody and the other H-5 students, but others welcome them to the class. One girl, Rose, invites Melody to sit with her. Rose and Melody start to bond in the inclusive class and for the first time Melody thinks she has made a friend. The two girls even go on a trip to the aquarium together.

In the new classroom, Melody knows every answer to every question and enjoys learning new things. Although, she does not have the means to communicate her learning. Melody and Catherine do some research and discover an assistive device called the Medi-Talker. The device would allow Melody to use thousands of words and phrases and easily express her thoughts and ideas. Melody's parents gift her the Medi-Talker for Christmas. For the first time, Melody is able to speak to her parents. In school, she uses the device to answer questions, take tests, and talk directly to Rose.

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"Mrs. V made it her new mission to give me language. She ripped all the words off my communication board and started from scratch" (p. 46)

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The Problem With IQ Tests - Educational Connections

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IQ tests have been the litmus test for intelligence for a long time. Each test only measures certain aspects of intelligence: the problem with IQ tests.

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"I wondered if she would teach able-bodied third graders the same way. Probably not. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got" (p. 53)

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"Melody is able to figure out things, communicate, and manage in a world where nothing works right for her. She is the one with true intelligence!" (p. 26)

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Before entering school, Melody's mom takes her to the doctor to receive an intelligence test. The test procedures require Melody to perform outside of her physical capabilities, despite her knowing all the answers inside her head. The doctor claims Melody to be "severely brain-damaged" and recommends her mother send her off to an institution so that her parents can "move on with their lives." Melody's mom, however, fights for her daughter and defends her intelligence, then decides to enroll Melody into Spaulding Street Elementary School.

Now in her fifth year, Melody describes her experience at the public elementary school. She has been in the special education program with other students who have disabilities in the room H-5. In Melody's eyes the program is a joke. She is forced to do the same thing with the same kids every year and doesn't get to move up like the other classes. She struggles to bond with the other students because, even though they also have disabilities, none of them are like her. She also can't use her intelligence to its full potential in the special education classroom. Her teachers doubt the students' abilities and review basic concepts like the alphabet repeatedly. Thus, Melody states that she feels trapped in a cage when she's in H-5.

To continue, Melody finds support from her neighbor Mrs. V. Mrs. V started babysitting Melody when she was two-years-old. Melody explains how Mrs. V gave her no sympathy and challenged her to reach her full potential. It was at Mrs. V's house that Melody learned to scoot and crawl and how to protect herself if she falls out of her wheelchair. She also expands Melody's communication board to contain more words and gives Melody flashcards to grow her vocabulary. Melody even learns about someone like her for the first time when Mrs. V puts on a documentary about Stephen Hawking.

In chapter 8, Melody talks about her goldfish Ollie. One day, Melody watched Ollie jump straight out of his bowl. She tried to yell for her mom, but she did not come in time. Melody's mom blamed Melody for letting Ollie out of the bowl, as if she did not know fish needed water. Melody compares herself to the fish, stating how Ollie was also sick of living in the same small bowl and just wanted to escape. Fortunately, Melody's parents soon gift her with a golden retriever puppy who she names Butterscotch. The dog understands Melody in a way that people cannot because he can tell how she feels without talking.

Next, Melody's mom gives birth to her new baby sister, Penny. At first, Melody feels like a burden to her parents because she requires so much care. She is jealous that Penny is able-bodied unlike her. Eventually, Melody grows to love having a little sister

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"Everybody uses words to express themselves. Except me. And I bet most people don't realize the real power of words. But I do."  (p. 8)

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Photographic memory is the ability to recall a past scene in detail with great accuracy - just like a photograph. Although many people claim that they have it, we still don't have proof that it actually exists.

Generally, we're better at remembering what we've seen than what we've heard. And some people do have better visual memory than others. Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM) is a condition that has been identified in fewer than 100 people worldwide. People with HSAM can recall past events in great detail, along with the exact dates when they occurred. For example, they may be able to tell you what they ate for lunch on May 1, 1999 (and that it was a Saturday).

Their memories are exceptional, but certainly not as perfect as actual photographs. Doctors have yet to understand what exactly is happening in the brains of individuals with HSAM, and tests reveal there is no particular ability that appears to underpin the condition. Results from one study suggest that people with HSAM are no better at acquiring memories - they are not superior learners - but are simply better at retaining memories.

The idea of an eidetic memory is similar to that of a photographic memory, but the two are not exactly the same. Eidetic memory is the ability to vividly recall an image you are exposed to, but only briefly. For example, someone may be able to continue to "see" a picture they have been shown for 30 seconds, even a few minutes after the picture is removed. Yvaine Ye

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Photographic memory is the ability to recall a past scene in detail with great accuracy - just like a photograph. Although many people claim that they have it, we still don't have proof that it actually exists. Generally, we're better at remembering what we've seen than what we've heard.

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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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"Out of My Mind" is told from the perspective of an eleven-year-old girl named Melody. She lives at home with her mom and dad, and eventually her new baby sister Penny and her dog Butterscotch. Melody was born with cerebral palsy, a disorder that affects a person's ability to move and maintain balance and posture. Melody describes how she sits, strapped into a wheelchair to stay upright and how her parents help her eat, go to the bathroom, and move about the house. Beginning at just two-years-old, Melody started absorbing all of the information in the world around her. She describes herself as being very smart and having a photographic memory, for everything she sees is captured and stored in her mind like a picture. At the same time, the young girl cannot speak and so no one knows about the extent of her intelligence. Her inability to easily express herself and communicate sometimes causes Melody to get extremely frustrated. She calls these moments her "tornado explosions," in which she kicks and yells, and cannot calm down. Although Melody struggles to express herself, she has a vivacious demeanor. She loves country music, films, books, and spending time with her family. Throughout the book, Melody tells the story of her early childhood and her experience as someone with cerebral palsy during her fifth-grade school year.