I've been swamped with work heck the past few days, but have been following your discussions. I am really enjoying them while reading the book.
I understand that Moms are Moms. They live and die for their kids. I get that. But I don't think that's an excuse for acting irrationally. I don't think it excuses her for ignoring Theo so much. It seems to me that there are many ways that a mother could be a fierce advocate for their child without having the tunnel vision that Emma seems to have.
I personally do not feel that Emma intentionally ignored Theo. Having a child with special needs, especially that of autism and Asperger's, requires an enormous amount of time. I strongly believe that Emma had very good intentions and just wound up ignoring Theo more than she should have due to Jacob's constant needs. This is normal in situations when there is a sick child. Something has to give. Do I feel she could have managed her time differently so as to spend more of it with Theo? Yes. However, I just don't agree that she purposely ignored him and therefore uses it as an excuse.
I did like this book, though I would really love to talk to someone in real life who has a kid or kids with Aspergers to see how realistic they thought the portrayal of Jacob was.
On a side note: I had heard that people were upset when the show Big Bang Theory started because they felt like it was making fun of people with Aspergers in Sheldon's character. Of course, the writers said they aren't. If you watch this show, what do you think? Does Sheldon have Aspergers? Watched last night after having read HR and think that if he does, it's pretty mild. There are definitely similar traits there...
I have had several autistic children in my classroom over the past five years including those with Aspergers. Every case is different. Some have extreme sensitivities to sounds or lights. Others do not. Each child and his triggers are different. I do feel that the portrayal is accurate though and also read that she did quite a bit of research before moving forward with the writing of the text.
I also think Sheldon has mild Asperger's or some other type of social disability. He just presents himself in that manner.
I'm a little confused about Jacob's diagnosis too.
I admit that my knowledge of autism and Asperger's comes from the popular media and whatever I learned from reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime and watching Temple Grandin on HBO, but my understanding of Aperger's was that people with the diagnosis are high functioning and didn't have the kind of tantrums and breakdowns that Jacob seems to have all the time.
I thought that people with Asperger's had trouble with social cues and have a tendencey to be more literal than neurotypical people. I didn't think they'd have meltdowns over crumpled paper or orange signs.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that Jacob seems to be more what a layperson like me would think of as "regular autistic" and not an "Aspie". I think because his diagnosis is Asperger's and not striaght up autism I expect more from him? Does that make sense?
Taking Sheldon for example: I know he doesn't like it when people sit in his spot on the couch but he doesn't have to hide under a weighted blanket when they do it either.
Does anyone know if there is an Asperger's spectrum the way there is an autism spectrum?
Asperger's is on one end of the austism spectrum. As a result, it has its own spectrum, so to speak. There are varying degrees of autism, and there are varying degrees of Asperger's. Be sure to check out the informational links I posted on the first page for more info.
Just found this thread. I have a couple of questions about the "Book Club"
Where are the threads from previous discussed books?
How are books chosen?
How far in advance will we know which book? I ask this because I saw several posts in the beginning stating trouble getting the book from the Library, so I was curious!
May I ask why you discuss the books at various points instead of just after reading it all and then discussing?
I'm fascinated by this, love to read, and can't wait to join in the next one!
Here are the threads from our previous two book club discussions.
Pirate Latitudes
The Help
Two of the books have been chosen for the group. Our current selection was voted on by everyone from a list I provided.
This is a club where you read and discuss at your own pace. I have given a few days (usually a week or a bit more) notice before beginning the discussions. This offers everyone enough time to get the book in some form whether that be the novel itself or an online or audio version.
Discussions are focused on small "chunks" of the novel at a time to provide talking points. Most online book clubs give deadlines for sections of a text so that the discussions can focus on a piece at a time and really get detailed in terms of criques. Here, everyone can read at their own pace and, if they go ahead, can type a spoiler warning when sharing thoughts past the read section.
I hope you will join us!