Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin
Anything But Typical is one of two books I’m reviewing this month that have received the Schneider Family Book Award which honors an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.
Our narrator Jason immediately sets us up as the outsiders, referring to us as “they”, saying he will try to tell the story using our language. Jason has been diagnosed with ASD (autistic spectrum disorder) but his mother prefers to call it PDD-NOS (pervasive development delay – not otherwise specified) and NLD (non-verbal learning disorder). Jason clearly has a large vocabulary which is shown by him repeating one SAT level word a day. He’s also an avid writer, and is very involved in a website where young authors share their work. Despite all this, Jason has a very difficult time forming words and although he can speak, most of the time, he does not. This was a little strange to me; the children I’ve known who were on the spectrum and had difficulty with speech either used sign language or assistive technology while Jason uses neither. And while he was clearly sending e-mails to strangers through the computer, his own family had a hard time knowing what he was thinking or feeling. Another puzzle piece that didn’t quite fit for me was that Jason proclaimed his understanding of idioms was better than most people’s which would be somewhat unusual I believe as many children on the spectrum are in fact more literal than normal.
What’s done well is the descriptions of how Jason feels in various situations and his relationship with his family. While Jason’s father and brother love and accept him, his mother’s emotions are far more complex, ranging from grief to guilt to anger. In fact, her difficulty managing her emotions has caused to her to put off getting him help. He isn’t diagnosed until he is 8. Anything But Typical gained my respect for not trying to make things too easy. Jason is understood by some of the people he encounters, but there are just as many people who misunderstand or tease him. This book does not shy away from uncomfortable moments, nor does it aim for a pat happy ending.
The story follows Jason in his daily life but focuses on his participation in the writing website where he shares stories he has written and exchanges e-mails with other young authors. When Jason finds that he’s been communicating with a girl, he starts to think there might be hope of him one day having a girlfriend. His parents arrange to take him to a conference for website participants, which leaves Jason terrified and conflicted. As much as he wants to meet this girl, he worries what she will think of him when she knows what he is really like.
I think for many readers this book will be a bit hard to follow. It’s full of jargon, from the alphabet soup of initials that serve to identify Jason’s disability to SPED (special education), IEP (individualized education program) and NT (neurotypical – used in this book to refer to anyone not on the spectrum). The words and initials aren’t always defined and when they are the definitions may not be particularly helpful to readers who are unfamiliar with the terminology. Considering the main audience is children and not people with a familiarity with ASD and the education system, I’m guessing many readers lack the background knowledge to sort through this information.
Sex, Nudity, Dating – Jason likes girls.
Profanity – None.
Death, Violence and Gore – Jason tells about when they had to put his dog to sleep.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – None.
Frightening or Intense Things – None.
