07-19-2005, 06:28 PM
Posted on Tue, Jul. 19, 2005
USC hopes autism novel inspires freshmen
By CLAUDIA SMITH BRINSON
Across South Carolina, and here and there and elsewhere, about 3,600
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/12165631.htm
18-year-olds should be carrying around a little red book.
The readers are USC's incoming freshmen. The book with the bright
red cover is Mark Haddon's "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the
Night-Time."
For the first time, all freshmen are participating in USC's First-
Year Reading Experience. Before, participation was limited to
several hundred students in the S.C. Honors College or University
101, the school's college introduction course.
During summer orientation, each freshman is being handed a copy of
Haddon's international best-seller. At 8:30 a.m. Aug. 15, all will
gather in the Carolina Coliseum to talk about the adventures of
Christopher John Francis Boone.
But first, they will hear from Mary Meghan Martin, 20, a second-
semester junior from Bothell, Wash., who is majoring in biology.
Mary Martin's younger sister and two cousins are autistic, as is the
narrator of Haddon's novel.
Mary Martin's participation marks another first. Eleven years — and
books — into the program, this is the first time a student will be
the featured speaker at the student welcoming. Martin will share the
stage with associate provost Karl Heider and English professor Ed
Madden.
When Dan Berman, USC's director of University 101, heard of Mary
Martin's deep and personal connection to the subject matter of "The
Curious Incident," he took the leap. "I know it will be inspiring
for other students," he says.
Mary Martin is still working on her speech. Right now, she has three
versions. But in any version, she's a fierce advocate for her
sister, Kristen Martin, and "The Curious Incident."
She sees an opportunity to dispel stereotypes: "Most books or movies
about autism show extreme cases, like in `Rain Man.' ''
She sees an opportunity to better describe autism, a neurological
disorder affecting 1.5 million American children and adults. Autism
is described as a spectrum disorder because it affects individuals
in a variety of ways, at a variety of levels, from severe mental
disability to extreme intellectual or artistic gifts.
Most people with autism do experience difficulties communicating,
socializing and dealing with change. Christopher explains, "... when
I am in a new place, because I see everything, it is like when a
computer is doing too many things at the same time and the central
processor unit is blocked up and there isn't any space left to think
about other things."
In Mary Martin's family, one cousin is classically autistic.
Another, like the narrator of "The Curious Incident," has Asperger
syndrome, sometimes described as high-functioning autism. Kristin
Martin's diagnosis is PDD-NOS, which stands for Pervasive
Developmental Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified.
Kristin Martin, 18, also has Turner syndrome, which delays puberty
and inhibits growth. She is deaf and mentally disabled.
"My first memories are of her in the hospital," Mary Martin
says. "We didn't expect her to live past her first birthday, so
every year is a shock and amazing and wonderful.
"Of course there were times I didn't understand what was going on
and wanted her to be normal. But I've learned a lot from her. She
has always been a blessing, except for a few years in elementary
school, when I thought, `Oh, my gosh, I have a sister who is
handicapped.' ''
Kristin Martin has shaped not only her big sister's past but her
future. Mary Martin names handicapped children her passion and hopes
to earn both a medical degree and a Ph.D. to combine research and
teaching in that area.
Mary Martin already has practice, attending medical appointments,
adding her point of view at meetings about her sister's public-
school education.
"My family, the way we get things to work is we're all involved,"
she explains. Her father is a senior systems administrator with a
pharmaceutical company who goes to work before dawn so he can be
home in the afternoon. Her mother works at home for Hewlett-Packard.
Among their most important offerings is "regulating life so there's
a constant balance," Mary Martin says. "I am absolutely awed by my
parents and how much they do."
Much is needed, she notes. "Like any little sister, my little sister
hugs you, laughs and plays — but on her terms. If you introduce her
to a new situation or a new person, and she wasn't prepared, she
will go into a temper tantrum."
Mary Martin particularly likes how "The Curious Incident" depicts
the stress families endure. She offers as a personal example a
Christmas Day spent in the emergency room. The Martins had visited
relatives; Kristen Martin, unable to handle the variety, threw daily
tantrums, needing medical assistance to stop.
This is the sort of thing, Mary Martin notes, that estranges
relatives, ends marriages, results in violent responses. "The
Curious Incident" tackles just such problems in a tender and
surprising way.
"The best thing about the book is it's fictional," Mary Martin
says. "If it were nonfiction, you wouldn't get the whole story"
because real people wouldn't tell how tough it actually gets.
Berman notes "The Curious Incident" is difficult to put down. "It's
deceptively simple but really loaded with powerful issues."
He says expanding the First-Year Reading Experience should challenge
students to do "something academic during the summer."
He reflects on the book's quality, as well as the persistently
upbeat Mary Martin, and adds, "The only thing I'm worried about is:
How do we follow this up?"
For more information about the First-Year Reading Experience and a
reader's discussion guide, go to http://www.sc.edu/univ101.
USC hopes autism novel inspires freshmen
By CLAUDIA SMITH BRINSON
Across South Carolina, and here and there and elsewhere, about 3,600
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/12165631.htm
18-year-olds should be carrying around a little red book.
The readers are USC's incoming freshmen. The book with the bright
red cover is Mark Haddon's "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the
Night-Time."
For the first time, all freshmen are participating in USC's First-
Year Reading Experience. Before, participation was limited to
several hundred students in the S.C. Honors College or University
101, the school's college introduction course.
During summer orientation, each freshman is being handed a copy of
Haddon's international best-seller. At 8:30 a.m. Aug. 15, all will
gather in the Carolina Coliseum to talk about the adventures of
Christopher John Francis Boone.
But first, they will hear from Mary Meghan Martin, 20, a second-
semester junior from Bothell, Wash., who is majoring in biology.
Mary Martin's younger sister and two cousins are autistic, as is the
narrator of Haddon's novel.
Mary Martin's participation marks another first. Eleven years — and
books — into the program, this is the first time a student will be
the featured speaker at the student welcoming. Martin will share the
stage with associate provost Karl Heider and English professor Ed
Madden.
When Dan Berman, USC's director of University 101, heard of Mary
Martin's deep and personal connection to the subject matter of "The
Curious Incident," he took the leap. "I know it will be inspiring
for other students," he says.
Mary Martin is still working on her speech. Right now, she has three
versions. But in any version, she's a fierce advocate for her
sister, Kristen Martin, and "The Curious Incident."
She sees an opportunity to dispel stereotypes: "Most books or movies
about autism show extreme cases, like in `Rain Man.' ''
She sees an opportunity to better describe autism, a neurological
disorder affecting 1.5 million American children and adults. Autism
is described as a spectrum disorder because it affects individuals
in a variety of ways, at a variety of levels, from severe mental
disability to extreme intellectual or artistic gifts.
Most people with autism do experience difficulties communicating,
socializing and dealing with change. Christopher explains, "... when
I am in a new place, because I see everything, it is like when a
computer is doing too many things at the same time and the central
processor unit is blocked up and there isn't any space left to think
about other things."
In Mary Martin's family, one cousin is classically autistic.
Another, like the narrator of "The Curious Incident," has Asperger
syndrome, sometimes described as high-functioning autism. Kristin
Martin's diagnosis is PDD-NOS, which stands for Pervasive
Developmental Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified.
Kristin Martin, 18, also has Turner syndrome, which delays puberty
and inhibits growth. She is deaf and mentally disabled.
"My first memories are of her in the hospital," Mary Martin
says. "We didn't expect her to live past her first birthday, so
every year is a shock and amazing and wonderful.
"Of course there were times I didn't understand what was going on
and wanted her to be normal. But I've learned a lot from her. She
has always been a blessing, except for a few years in elementary
school, when I thought, `Oh, my gosh, I have a sister who is
handicapped.' ''
Kristin Martin has shaped not only her big sister's past but her
future. Mary Martin names handicapped children her passion and hopes
to earn both a medical degree and a Ph.D. to combine research and
teaching in that area.
Mary Martin already has practice, attending medical appointments,
adding her point of view at meetings about her sister's public-
school education.
"My family, the way we get things to work is we're all involved,"
she explains. Her father is a senior systems administrator with a
pharmaceutical company who goes to work before dawn so he can be
home in the afternoon. Her mother works at home for Hewlett-Packard.
Among their most important offerings is "regulating life so there's
a constant balance," Mary Martin says. "I am absolutely awed by my
parents and how much they do."
Much is needed, she notes. "Like any little sister, my little sister
hugs you, laughs and plays — but on her terms. If you introduce her
to a new situation or a new person, and she wasn't prepared, she
will go into a temper tantrum."
Mary Martin particularly likes how "The Curious Incident" depicts
the stress families endure. She offers as a personal example a
Christmas Day spent in the emergency room. The Martins had visited
relatives; Kristen Martin, unable to handle the variety, threw daily
tantrums, needing medical assistance to stop.
This is the sort of thing, Mary Martin notes, that estranges
relatives, ends marriages, results in violent responses. "The
Curious Incident" tackles just such problems in a tender and
surprising way.
"The best thing about the book is it's fictional," Mary Martin
says. "If it were nonfiction, you wouldn't get the whole story"
because real people wouldn't tell how tough it actually gets.
Berman notes "The Curious Incident" is difficult to put down. "It's
deceptively simple but really loaded with powerful issues."
He says expanding the First-Year Reading Experience should challenge
students to do "something academic during the summer."
He reflects on the book's quality, as well as the persistently
upbeat Mary Martin, and adds, "The only thing I'm worried about is:
How do we follow this up?"
For more information about the First-Year Reading Experience and a
reader's discussion guide, go to http://www.sc.edu/univ101.