Wanna get away?

[ImpulsiveNixie]

Okay, so I have a had a lot of time to sit and stress about applications and school and moving and I realized that I am putting too much time into the thoughts of grad school. I needed a break. So, I have redirected my time that I spend worrying into something more pleasurable and semi-productive: reading and, my personal guilty pleasure, video games. 

 

Here is a list of books that I have read, currently reading, about to start reading: 

 

• Divergent (totally know this isn't "speechie" related - #guiltypleasure - can't wait for the movies)
• My Stroke of Insight - Jill Bolte Taylor
• The Diving Bell and The Butterfly - Jean-Dominique Bauby
• The Giver (again not speechie but I loved this book in high school and wanted to re-read) 
• League of Denial - Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru (OMG if you are anything like me then you have a love/hate relationship with football, hockey, XSports, really any contact sport then this is must read - the book highlights how the NFL has failed to represent their players and give them the best chances of remaining healthy) 

 

 

What about you guys? Know any good books pertaining to Speech Pathology that you think would be a good read? Or any books really? 

[SLPamy]

Interesting topic! I remember looking up some good speechie books and I found this list:

 

1. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death by Jean-Dominique Bauby 

2. Where Is the Mango Princess?: A Journey Back From Brain Injury by Cathy Crimmins 

3. Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's by John Elder Robison 

4. Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant by Daniel Tammet

5. The Journal of Best Practices: A Memoir of Marriage, Asperger Syndrome, and One Man's Quest to Be a Better Husband by David Finch

6. Schuyler's Monster: A Father's Journey with His Wordless Daughter by Robert Rummel-Hudson 

7. Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine 

8. Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks 

9. Paperboy by Vince Vawter

I've never been much of a "read for fun" kind of person, but I really want to try it out again now that I have the time for it.

[LDadvocate]

Recently I picked up an old high school book, To Kill A Mockingbird. I don't know what possessed me at the time not to read this book and look to sparknotes, but I'm reading it again and it's absolutely beautiful. loll I'm a nutjob too like I'll watch the movie, read actor's bibliography, read critic reviews at the time of its release, I'm just nuts I tell yah.

 

Honestly I haven't gotten up to it but I'd read some graduate books if I could. If you look up a professor at your favorite school, I'm sure one of faculty members has written a book, why not show them your interest and read the book. THEY'RE JUST SO EXPENSIVE!!!! LOLL

Edited February 5, 2014 by LDadvocate

[flnjslp]

Recently I picked up an old high school book, To Kill A Mockingbird. I don't know what possessed me at the time not to read this book and look to sparknotes, but I'm reading it again and it's absolutely beautiful. loll I'm a nutjob too like I'll watch the movie, read actor's bibliography, read critic reviews at the time of its release, I'm just nuts I tell yah.

 

 

I just read this book again as well! It's basically my favorite book of all time.

 

I recently read "Over My Head: A Doctor's Own Story of Head Injury from the Inside Looking Out" by Claudia L. Osborn. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about traumatic brain injury.

[ImpulsiveNixie]

Sooooo glad people started responding. I saw everyone was scoping the thread but no one was responding and I was starting to get a little disappointed. 

 

I've never been much of a "read for fun" kind of person, but I really want to try it out again now that I have the time for it.

 

Awesome list! You really should now that you have the time. Our lives become so busy and it is moments like these that we should take for ourselves. Reading can be so calming and often times I get lost in the pages and stop worrying about everything else.

 

There is this wonderful book that I read called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time written by Mark Haddon. It was lovely whodunit book centered around a boy with Asperger's. However, it is so much more because it details her views on life and interactions with people. I really enjoyed it. Actually I think that autismadvocate would enjoy the book! Too bad I cannot tag people in posts lol. 

 

 

Honestly I haven't gotten up to it but I'd read some graduate books if I could. If you look up a professor at your favorite school, I'm sure one of faculty members has written a book, why not show them your interest and read the book. THEY'RE JUST SO EXPENSIVE!!!! LOLL

 

I want this to be fun not put me in a coma.   Hehehe. Graduate books are going to have their time and place (i.e. when I am overwhelmed with clinic and coursework trying to gain some sanity and prevent unruly tears of frustration from coming to my eyes). I do, however, applaud your overeager tendency to learn. I just think there is a lot to learn from individual accounts and experiences either through fiction or non-fiction. There are so many light reading books that can give insight to the patient population that we will be working with as clinicians. 

 

I recently read "Over My Head: A Doctor's Own Story of Head Injury from the Inside Looking Out" by Claudia L. Osborn. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about traumatic brain injury.

 

A friend just recommended this book. I think I am going to add it to my list. 

[rollinat]

I have recently enjoyed Lisa Genova's books, Left Neglected and Still Alice. They are not strictly speech-related but deal with brain disorders. They were an easy read and good stories while being somewhat informative. Perfect reading for this time of our lives! I also really like anything by Oliver Sacks - his books are mainly case studies of his patients with a variety of brain disorders, but written in a very engaging way.

Of course, there's always the APA manual which arrived the other day for me! I'm British, so some of the conventions of academic writing in American English are still somewhat hazy. I reckon I'll manage to put that on a shelf till I need to read it, though!

[Ssen]

I read My Stroke of Insight! It's a great book, I loved it. 

 

As for right now I'm reading Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen - not speech related but so far it's been a good read 

[DeafAudi]

It's not speech related but for a fun read I HIGHLY recommend The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I think I will reread To Kill a Mockingbird after reading this thread, as well.

[ImpulsiveNixie]

It seems to be the "break" thing to read: To Kill a Mockingbird. LOL 

[plmgis]

I second Water for Elephants!  Such a fun light read.  For some reason I've gotten into Jane Austen again, which is obviously not speech related but so good.. Pride & Prejudice, Persuasion, Sense & Sensibility.   Now that I think about it it's probably filling the hole in my heart for the past left by Downton Abbey's season ending.  The suspense of waiting for my favorite shows to come back is pretty close behind the suspense of waiting to hear back from grad schools.  Ok not that close, but still!

[ImpulsiveNixie]

The suspense of waiting for my favorite shows to come back is pretty close behind the suspense of waiting to hear back from grad schools. Ok not that close, but still!

Shhhhh this is a safe zone Downton Abbey is a pretty awesome show. I can see why Jane Austin is quenching your thirst for the show to return

[LDadvocate]

I just read this book again as well! It's basically my favorite book of all time.

 

I recently read "Over My Head: A Doctor's Own Story of Head Injury from the Inside Looking Out" by Claudia L. Osborn. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about traumatic brain injury.

 

 

Nice, I've been looking into brain stuff and will definitely pick it up in the library. It's so funny because its been a while since I've been in a speech class after graduating, so I've been looking up brain-related articles in children. I was starting to forget what really pulled me into SLP that I started to think I was more of a teacher than a hopeful SLP. loll I forget that some of the techniques I use with my students are SLP incorporated. Although your recommendation would really open my eyes to brain trauma patients. I like that.

 

 

Shhhhh this is a safe zone Downton Abbey is a pretty awesome show. I can see why Jane Austin is quenching your thirst for the show to return

 

Speaking of BRAINS the walking dead is returning this SUNDAY!! I CANNOT WAIT!! and speaking of Jane Austen, I might pick up a copy of Pride and Prejudice Zombie edition in the library. OHH YEAHH!!

 

[autismadvocate]

Sooooo glad people started responding. I saw everyone was scoping the thread but no one was responding and I was starting to get a little disappointed. 

 

 

Awesome list! You really should now that you have the time. Our lives become so busy and it is moments like these that we should take for ourselves. Reading can be so calming and often times I get lost in the pages and stop worrying about everything else.

 

There is this wonderful book that I read called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time written by Mark Haddon. It was lovely whodunit book centered around a boy with Asperger's. However, it is so much more because it details her views on life and interactions with people. I really enjoyed it. Actually I think that autismadvocate would enjoy the book! Too bad I cannot tag people in posts lol. 

 

 

 

I want this to be fun not put me in a coma.   Hehehe. Graduate books are going to have their time and place (i.e. when I am overwhelmed with clinic and coursework trying to gain some sanity and prevent unruly tears of frustration from coming to my eyes). I do, however, applaud your overeager tendency to learn. I just think there is a lot to learn from individual accounts and experiences either through fiction or non-fiction. There are so many light reading books that can give insight to the patient population that we will be working with as clinicians. 

 

 

A friend just recommended this book. I think I am going to add it to my list. 

 

Haha, I'm here! I actually did read that book...I really liked it and got into it. I just remember reading the book and walking away hating the color brown and not knowing why until I realized I'd just gotten that into the book (the character hates the color brown). Haha, only a temporary effect, but definitely told me that it was an awesome book. I did read it back before I had much of any autism knowledge though (the only thing I had going for me at the time was a sister on the spectrum, and you know what they say, 'if you know one person with autism, you know one person with autism'), so I'd have to reread it to check accuracy now.

 

If you're looking for good portrayals of autism, though, there are loads. I'll split them into multiple categories.

 

Books:

1. The Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships: Decoding Social Mysteries Through the Unique Perspectives of Autism

- This book just totally Blew. My. Mind. And that's not easy to do. I super highly recommend reading it, for many reasons. The title is kind of a misnomer, though. Here are the reasons it's awesome and highly recommended:

A ) For those of us future SLPs, the book really goes into pragmatics in-depth. You will emerge with SUCH a better understanding of pragmatic difficulties from the autistic perspective.

B ) It shows the diversity of the spectrum. There are actually two authors who teemed up to write this, Temple Grandin and Sean Barron (the son of the author of Look Me in The Eyes), both of whom have autism, but very different experiences with it. Sean Barron's experiences are so different from Temple's...they actually line up better with most autistic people I've actually met, especially my sister. Reading his words, I felt like I was understanding what my sister was going through for the very first time. And I'd read at least a bookshelf's worth of autism related books at that point, so that's saying something.

C ) It's the best book about autism I've ever read. As I read it, I saw flashes of all the different people I know on the spectrum, from my sister, to my classmate, to my friend's brother. Things I hadn't understood before, or even thought of as being autistic, just clicked into place when I read it. I think the title is a bit of a throw off - it's not only useful for learning/teaching rules of social relationships, but for understanding the autistic perspective as a whole. We make autistic people adapt to our world - it's about time that we appreciated all the work that goes into it behind the scenes. It's about time that we better understand their world. And this book is the gateway to doing exactly that. Read it. *drops mic*

 

2. Personally all other books pale in consideration, but if you're still interested, I recommend Aspergirls. It helped me realize that my sister needed way more accommodations than we were giving her, and has a lot of stories from lots of women on the spectrum, a perspective that often goes overlooked. A book I haven't read fully (I am currently broke, as in double-digit bank account, so I only read the first free chapter on Amazon), but if their website and that one chapter are anything to judge by is awesome is A Thinking Person's Guide to Autism.

 

My thoughts on biographies. Reading a book that describes one person's experience with autism, we go back to that whole 'if you know one person with autism, you know one person with autism' problem. They're great reads and certainly tend to be popular, but...it's still only one person. That's why the books I recommend tend to be multiple people.

 

A not autism-related but still SLP related book I recommend is:

No Pity: People with Disabilities Forging a New Civil Rights Movement

Okay, so it's crazy old. And many facts are out of date. (I know because wow, the view of autism it has is backward.) But WOW what an introduction to a new paradigm of seeing people with disabilities, a paradigm SLPs, of all people, really need. And it's inexpensive (I think I got it on Thrift Books for $3).

 

 

FREE RESOURCES

 

Because most of us are broke, and these resources are still super awesome.

 

TV Shows/Movies:

The Bridge

I have never watched it. Why? Because it seemed kind of scary and I'm a wimp when it comes to that. That said, the main character is autistic, and starting with episode two they had a (very well regarded - he's the founder of WrongPlanet, which I'll get into more later) consultant who has autism himself come on and make her autism realistic. It's gotten great reviews in that regard from the autistic community, so I recommend it. I think it's on FX.

 

Loving Lampposts - http://www.hulu.com/watch/235717

This is free to watch on Hulu. While it doesn't so much explain autism, it does give you a great introduction to the autism community, the good, bad, and crazy sides, which you should know as an SLP because you'll be dealing with parents that are very much part of this world. Also known as an introduction to subtypes of parents of autistic kids - the ones that won't let their kids eat gluten/dairy/food dyes/GMOs/...you name it, I've seen it eliminated; the ones that feed their kids bleach (that wasn't a thing back in 2010, when this was made, but those sort of parents are definitely on there); and the ones that accept their kids for who they are. Plus a bit of autistic people talking about themselves.

 

Web Resources:

WrongPlanet - http://www.wrongplanet.net/

A discussion forum for people with autism themselves. They are very welcoming for people who aren't on the spectrum (case in point: me), so if you want to go and ask questions they will totally answer. Even if you don't want to join (it's free) or participate, thought, it's also another paradigm-shifting resource. Just go on and read what people on the spectrum themselves think is important and what they have to say. It also totally busts myths about autism, because there are plenty of people on there talking about relationships, people with great senses of humor, "non-verbal" people who participate and show they are quite intelligent, thank you very much, and just a whole different perspective about autism. The vast majority of autistic people are quite capable of expressing themselves on a forum like this. Here, they can speak for themselves instead of being spoken for (by the likes of Autism Speaks, which actually has no autistic people on its board and does not speak for autistic people...but I digress). If you're looking for a friend there, I haunt the site myself asking questions...my username is BigSister.

 

The WrongPlanet YouTube Channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/theWrongPlanet/videos

For all the same reasons WrongPlanet is awesome, their YouTube channel is, too. Lots of interviews and lots of autistic people expressing themselves.

 

Want to Know More About Autism? Ask an Autistic - http://outrunningthestorm.wordpress.com/want-to-know-more-about-autism-ask-an-someone-who-is-autistic/

This is a directory, of sorts, to blogs and articles by autistic people explaining the answers to all sorts of different questions about autism, from what having sensory sensitivities feels like, to how they feel when their parents are told to mourn for them, to making eye contact. Basically more than you could ever hope to gain from buying one autistic person's biography, but way cheaper.

 

The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism (Facebook page) - https://www.facebook.com/thinkingpersonsguidetoautism?ref=br_tf

Just like their Facebook page and you'll get the links they post showing up in your newsfeed with high quality articles about autism, from the perspective of autistic people themselves and their parents. It'll also update you with current events in the autism world. An easy way to learn more about autism.

 

Autism Spectrum Explained - http://www.autismspectrumexplained.com/2-terms--background.html

 

If I could sneak some self promotion into here...check out my website, guys! Again, a free resource, explains autistic people from the autistic perspective, and I tried to make it easy to read. Skip article one (I'm in the process of editing it) and go straight to #2 (which I gave the link for). The goal of the website is to take readers from little to no understanding of autism all the way up to something approximating my understanding of autism (which I've developed over a lifetime) in just five articles, numbers two through six.

 

 

 

 

Okay...so this was really long. And believe it or not, I didn't mention everything. But this has actually turned into a really good summary of resources (which I am totally going to update the Resources page on my site with, because this is much better organized). And it should definitely provide more than enough reading/watching material to choose from and last you through this painful application waiting period... :)

 

If you do follow through with any of these resources, my sincere thanks. My goal in being an autism advocate has always been and will always be to make the world a better place for my sister. I know my pic says "awareness is not enough, promote autism acceptance" but really, there's an intermediate step that we need to take before we're ready for acceptance - understanding. And for every person that checks out one of these resources, we're just one step closer to that goal. One less person that will ask my sister if she has emotions. One less person that will treat her like she's stupid. And one more person that will not only understand autism, but will also be one of the rare professionals in a field that helps people on the spectrum who actually understands autism. That's a really powerful position, one from which we can do a world of good. So thanks.

Edited February 6, 2014 by autismadvocate

[ImpulsiveNixie]

 

Speaking of BRAINS the walking dead is returning this SUNDAY!! I CANNOT WAIT!! and speaking of Jane Austen, I might pick up a copy of Pride and Prejudice Zombie edition in the library. OHH YEAHH!!

 

I feel like that is a great book to dive into!! I saw it at B&N and thought this is definitely a book to check out. OMG ya I am pumped for Sunday. 

[madisong23]

I read The Diving Bell and the Butterfly over the summer to get me ready for my applications. It was so good and incredibly moving. I highly recommend it! It's also a very fast read.

I also am reading The Autistic Brain by Temple Grandin, it's excellent as well.

[autismadvocate]

madisong23, when was that written? Temple's views on autism have evolved a great deal over the years...

 

Also, I should say that I, too, REALLY want to read The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. It just costs money...which I don't have. Did you know they're turning it into a movie?

Edited February 8, 2014 by autismadvocate

[SLPamy]

Awesome list! You really should now that you have the time. Our lives become so busy and it is moments like these that we should take for ourselves. Reading can be so calming and often times I get lost in the pages and stop worrying about everything else.

 

There is this wonderful book that I read called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time written by Mark Haddon. It was lovely whodunit book centered around a boy with Asperger's. However, it is so much more because it details her views on life and interactions with people. I really enjoyed it. Actually I think that autismadvocate would enjoy the book! Too bad I cannot tag people in posts lol. 

I actually did read that book! But it was so long ago that I barely remember anything about it. Maybe I should give it a re-read.

[LDadvocate]

 

If I could sneak some self promotion into here...check out my website, guys! Again, a free resource, explains autistic people from the autistic perspective, and I tried to make it easy to read. Skip article one (I'm in the process of editing it) and go straight to #2 (which I gave the link for). The goal of the website is to take readers from little to no understanding of autism all the way up to something approximating my understanding of autism (which I've developed over a lifetime) in just five articles, numbers two through six.

 

Okay...so this was really long. And believe it or not, I didn't mention everything. But this has actually turned into a really good summary of resources (which I am totally going to update the Resources page on my site with, because this is much better organized). And it should definitely provide more than enough reading/watching material to choose from and last you through this painful application waiting period... :)

 

If you do follow through with any of these resources, my sincere thanks. My goal in being an autism advocate has always been and will always be to make the world a better place for my sister. I know my pic says "awareness is not enough, promote autism acceptance" but really, there's an intermediate step that we need to take before we're ready for acceptance - understanding. And for every person that checks out one of these resources, we're just one step closer to that goal. One less person that will ask my sister if she has emotions. One less person that will treat her like she's stupid. And one more person that will not only understand autism, but will also be one of the rare professionals in a field that helps people on the spectrum who actually understands autism. That's a really powerful position, one from which we can do a world of good. So thanks.

 

Love the tenacity autismadvocate I checked out your website, it looks really professional like an SLP wrote this, have you reached out to other autism forums (maybe mommy autism forums) to promote your website? I'm really excited you made this website because I never took an autism class, leaving me clueless but understanding of the condition. Now that I think of it, schools should have autism 101 as a pre-requisite. But yeah, I forgot you made a website (self promoting worked in your favor)..loll love it

 

Also how did you create a website?

 

[autismadvocate]

Thanks, LDadvocate!!!! You're right, they don't actually teach students much about autism. As a psychology major, it got brought up once buried in one chapter in my Abnormal Psychology class. That was it. And the CSD major doesn't seem to be that different, so far. Even parents of autistic children and autism professionals often don't know much about it. Which is really sad. I think part of the problem is that a lot of parents and professionals focus way too much on facts about autism - the theories about a cause, a list of symptoms, therapies/treatments, intelligence quotients, etc. What little was covered in my psych class fell along those lines. But they don't actually try to understand autism from the perspective of autistic people - they look at what autistic people do and not the rationale for doing it, the scientific cause for behaviors instead of the emotional cause, etc - and until you do that, I don't think you can understand autism.

 

Now that you mention it, I haven't actually promoted it. I need to do that, glad you brought it up! It's in my signature on WrongPlanet (where the people already know about autism, because they're autistic, but I have it there because I'm seeking content contributors), and in my signature here, but that's pretty much all the promoting I've done, if you can even call it that.

 

I'm always so scared I'm going to offend parents, which is part of the reason I'm nervous about mentioning it to them. The autism community is a RIDICULOUSLY controversial place to be. I talked about it in the Controversies page on the website (so you may have heard my take on this already), but basically there are two camps, the acceptance camp (mostly consisting of autistic people themselves) and the cure camp (mostly consisting of parents). Again, this is where the comparison to the Deaf community works really well. I strongly side with the acceptance camp, and though I tried to not show that too much in the website, there is definitely that vibe (especially in the negative narrative page, [ http://www.autismspectrumexplained.com/negative-narrative.html ] which for that reason is kind of buried but it's true so I don't want to remove it). But you're right, I should promote it more...and maybe I should grow a thicker skin while I'm at it, because the Internet can be a really rough place.

 

Believe it or not, I only posses rudimentary computer skills, nothing along the lines of the knowledge needed to create a website. That's why I used a website maker. The one I used is called Weebly ( http://www.weebly.com ) and I like to tell people it's so easy to use that my grandma could do it, and she can't even double click. Because it really is that easy and it's free. I've made a bunch of websites through them and I highly recommend it.

Edited February 8, 2014 by autismadvocate

[madisong23]

Hi autismadvocate,

The Autistic Brain was published in the end of April 2013- so it is pretty new.

I didn't know that they're turning the Diving Bell and the Butterfly into a movie, I hope they do it justice!

Also, I've found that TED talks are a great way to pass the time and they're extremely informative. Stroke of insight is one of my favorites- I think someone on this thread mentioned the book version. I also love Amy Cuddy's TED talk on how our body language shapes us (a MUST watch for anyone with a CSD interview). Steven Pinker's talks on language are also great.

Just a thought enjoy!

[autismadvocate]

Oops - actually, the movie's already out! As of 2007...oops!!! Here's the preview:

 

You can actually watch the whole movie on YouTube, too.

 

I love TED talks - watched all the ones you've mentioned and more. Temple Grandin has a good one called "The World Needs All Kinds of Minds" ...only ignore what she deflects about love at the end. Autistic people are quite capable of love (and, yes, empathy), that's just a stereotype that they're not... Temple's views on autism [and DEFINITELY her mother's - that was ridiculous] tend to be rather old and out of date even in our recent years, although they used to be more out of date which is why I asked you when the book was written.

[DeafAudi]

I just bought The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and My Stroke of Insight from Amazon, I can't wait to receive them! 

[ballerina18]

Also, I've found that TED talks are a great way to pass the time and they're extremely informative. Stroke of insight is one of my favorites- I think someone on this thread mentioned the book version. I also love Amy Cuddy's TED talk on how our body language shapes us (a MUST watch for anyone with a CSD interview). Steven Pinker's talks on language are also great.

Just a thought enjoy!

Thank you for sharing those TED talks. I just checked them both out and loved them. TED talks have been my way to pass time for about a week now. I was starting to feel like I was killing brain cells by watching prime time tv shows. lol

[*Quinn*]

This is a great thread! Thanks for sharing all your SLP related resources and more!! I've been looking for the next good book to start (I'm impressed by those of you who read multiple, but I tend to stick to one at a time).

 

As an out-of-field applicant, I have sometimes felt a bit lost trying to gather info on my own so this is really helpful. I haven't read it yet, (and warning: this does fall under the more academic/text genre vs. the literary novel, but someone in another thread recommended Survival Guide for the Beginning Speech-Language Clinician by Susan Moon Meyer.

[lexical_gap]

If you aren't a huge reader, I've got some documentaries I'd recommend:

League of Denial: Sports-related brain injury, specifically CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) in NFL football players.
 

Aphasia the Movie: A fictionalized portrayal of actor Carl McIntyre's real-life struggle recovering from a stroke.