Understanding and appreciating the realness of Autism and Asperger’s, I was happy to read such a deeply involved and insightful book. My mom is a Pediatric Occupational Therapist and has worked with Autistic children for a very long time, so I sort of grew up being comfortable with people that displayed such traits although at the same time never really completely understood what it is. The Curious Incident of The Dog In The Night-Time, was a very interesting in depth look into the mind and heart of an Autistic individual searching for answers. I enjoyed reading it because I began to understand that it was not only a story about someone trying to write a story but it was also very much about their own personal story and struggle in a world skewed by autism. The actual events that take place in the story seem practical to me although I was unsure at times how much an autistic individual really absorbs arcane facts and information. In this story the main character, Christopher, used arcane information and math figures as a means to have self-confidence and also to calm his mind. What I enjoyed most about this book was that we got to ride along in the mind of the individual and even go on little distracted detours where he would think about math problems or maps that had nothing to do with the actual story other than to show the reader what is actually going on in the Autistic head. The daily life and family situation that was depicted fit very well for an individual who is occupied in their own thoughts and not completely aware of the things that are happening around them, as their were many, and maybe that is why Christopher decided to write a book, to create a sense of involvement in the life that happened around him but not directly inside him.
This book really tries to create a accurate portrayal of an individual confused by Autism and Asperger’s but I think somewhat gets them confused while doing it. In the book Christopher shows an extremely high level of intellect especially in regards to math and even takes A level math classes at his school. These symptoms are more accurate of Asperger’s because of the fairly normal IQ that Christopher demonstrates, because Autism tends to usually fall in the lower IQ range, though not always. Certainly the impairment in social interaction that takes place in both Asperger’s and Autism is a big part of Christopher’s character. Christopher also enjoys doing lots of ritualistic type behaviors where he deeply involves his mind in them and keeps tracks of the specifics of what happens, for example his ability to play minesweeper on his computer very fast and then relate how long it took him to the fastest he had ever done it before. Christopher also appreciates the sameness of things and it isn’t always easy for him to understand when things become different and on a similar note he does not really understand differences between people and how they should be treated but understands really well what makes him comfortable. For instance he demonstrated this behavior when hitting a police officer and also by carrying a knife in his pocket when he was scared and in his mind saying he would stab anyone that touched him. For him these attitudes and behaviors made sense because it is what in fact makes him comfortable and he doesn’t really see the hurt, emotions, or class differences of others. Something I also found very interesting was how he made him self comfortable. When he was arrested for hitting a police officer and brought to jail the first thing he did was figure out in his head the exact dimensions of the cell and that seemingly made him more comfortable and relaxed with his environment.
The other characters in the story and how they correlated to the story made good sense for Christopher and I felt like I understood him and his disorder very well in relationship to the changes and moves that his parents made towards the end of the story. I could see a family engaging an autistic child in what they want and accommodating them as much as possible while also trying to get their individual needs met. The story was very involved on all fronts and offered a full view of these types of disorders and in that manor I found it very helpful and educational. Overall I really enjoyed reading this book and liked considering the different realities for Christopher and also knowing that every person’s individual experience is personally real for them, even if it is perceived by the outside world as irrational.
What I appreciated most about this book was the autism that it helped me see in me and everyone. That is that it showed the irrationalities that Christopher experienced but also the irrationalities of his family and how they dealt with pain. The whole family unit demonstrated their own personal idiosyncrasies and really no one was more unusual than the other. Christopher did math problems and detached from his social environment to numb his mind while the father killed dogs and lied to his son that his mom had died. The point that I wish to make is that everyone is extremely unusual, irrational, and autistic in their own right and the thing that I know to do best is to appreciate myself for who I am and what I feel and view my own and everyone else’s experiences as good and meaningful.
