special needs Archives -

Second Chance is a touching story of a boy with autism and his shelter dog Chance. I liked the story itself and the idea of this book and I believe you can never have too many adoption books in your home library if your family is formed by adoption. However, for me there were slight narrative problems that detracted from the overall effect of the book. I applaud the author for choosing this topic matter and would still recommend this book to parents of children with special needs. However, I personally found the dog as narrator to be grating and, an unfortunate choice. The author Sandra Gerencher was a special education teacher in the public school system and she adopted a son with autism. Gerencher has worked and rescued several dogs from certain death in high kill shelters. Chance is adopted by the author and her son and this is the story of how that came about. Chance is a puppy who gets a second chance when he is taken to the boy’s home to meet the many other dogs already living there.The adoption of this dog is a catalyst to talk further about themes of adoption, loss and second chances. I think the most compelling and interesting plot here is a bigger picture story, that is really just touched on here. The use of animals as service dogs and helpers has become a growing phenomenon that isn’t being fully explored right now in research or in non fiction. Chance is an example of the many ways in which animals positively impact children who are disabled, abused or traumatized. There is much anecdotal evidence that adopting an animal into a home where a child has been adopted or is being fostered, makes a great difference emotionally to the stability of the child. And dogs like Chance can be excellent candidates for bridging traumas children have gone through, similarly they can be effective therapy dogs or cats. For me personally, I think this story might have worked better and been more effective as a tool for change had it been written as a non fiction story straight up in reportorial style without the gimmicks. As it is, it’s difficult to take a dog narrator seriously. Second Chance is $12.95 and a portion of the price goes to the Humane Society.

It’s no big secret really that I want to be Jodi Picoult when I grow up. This journalist turned author is one of my all time favourite contemporary authors. House Rules is yet another topical, well researched, beautifully written story that makes me yearn for more as soon as I have turned the last page. While the plot of House Rules centres around the CSI obsessed Jacob, a teenager with Asperger’s, a high functioning form of autism, it is equally the story of the mother and his sibling Theo. This is the story of a family dealing with a child who has special needs and perhaps that’s why I so eagerly nabbed this one when I discovered it at the London Public Library. My own daughter has sensory processing disorder amongst other diagnoses, so Jacob gave me some excellent insights into what makes her tick and also explode into meltdown. The mother Emma is such a vivid character that she could be any one of the mothers I know dealing with the challenges of parenting children who have special needs. Jacob’s social skills tutor Jess is found dead and suspicion quickly falls on Jacob, whose disability makes him appear a perfect suspect. Asperger’s is categorized by social skills deficits, high intelligence, flat tone and affect, lack of empathy for others. To outsiders – lawyers, jurors and police officers – Jacob appears calculating and cold. The trial that ensues here is a huge portion of the plot and that can be tedious in some novels. However, Picoult is quite able to balance multiple competing viewpoints by allowing the trial to take centre stage in the last half of the book. It is an effective plot device. It is a remarkably realistic insight she gives us into the minds of lawmakers, some too slow to change or comprehend grey areas of law and life. Picoult is excellent at illuminating the very nature of invisible disabilities. Some of the characters are able to see Jacob’s strengths and differences and others believe him to be a liar. This novel does not contain Picoult’s best writing, but it does contain some of her most memorable characters. Jacob is incredibly compelling and through this character Picoult brings unique and perceptive insights into autism and sensory processing dysfunctions. “These are some things I can’t really stand,” he lists. ” 1. The sound of paper being crumpled. I can’t tell you why, but it makes me feel like someone’s doing that to all my internal organs.” House Rules casts light on how we as a society are still lacking compassion and ability to embrace differences. Emma’s job as a columnist is revoked during the trial for instance by the very people who believe they are supportive of families with special needs. She is a single mother existing on fumes and cannot get a bank loan to pay her lawyer. She has spent a lifetime crafting her son’s environment so that he can function and avoid sensory overload. For instance Tuesdays are red food only days. When Oliver the lawyer enters their world he gives us fresh eyes through which the reader can see, at once how essential it is to have red Tuesdays for Emma and her family, and yet how absurd at the same time that a life must be lived within such parameters. My only criticism of this novel is that I saw the ending coming and usually Picoult is able to deal a surprising twist at the end of her books – as in My Sister’s Keeper, which had such a tour de force ending I felt gobsmacked for days after I finished the book.

House Rules, $32.00 Canadian $28. U.S.
SimonandSchuster publishing, Atria Books, 2010

thriftymommastips rating $$$$$ out of $$$$$