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Look at the adjectives to describe how a person feels. Draw the picture of each adjective. These are: bewildered, confused, curious, disgusted, happy, angry, depressed, apprehensive, insecure, sad, hopeful, scared, lost, frightened, frustrated, horrified, worried, pessimistic, nervous
Dave Spicer is a contemporary autistic writer. Regarding the presentations, as we all know the most common shorthand Asperger's is a developmental disorder. In broad terms, individuals with Asperger's have normal or above average intellectual capacity with atypical developed social skills. Read the poem and answer the questions:
David Spicer: That Asperger Kid
He gets upset and runs off screaming-
that or sits there fish-eyed, dreaming
who knows what from who knows where-
so weird, that kid, he sits and stares
at nothing. Nothing! Every day
the same act. I give up, okay?
I mean, we tried to understand him.
Couldn't do it. Gotta hand him this-
he's good at being strange
he damn well better change
because we're right. No little pansy
anymore, he's gonna learn to be a man
and take his orders ...
Now what? What's the use of trying?
Look-he's down there crying on the floor
I just can't take this any more.
We never know what's going to happen
wish he'd shape up, cut the crap and
grow up, join the world of men, but whadja expect? he's one of THEM.
A: Who is speaking? What are the speaker's feelings (at present/ in the past/ with regard to the future)?
B: What forms of behaviour typical of the "Asperger kid" (headline) does the speaker mention?
C: What words/ phrases reflect the speaker's attitude to these phonomena?
D: What solution does he suggest?
Answer the following questions in your own groups:
1. Why is the first chapter of the book called chapter 2?
2. Who killed the dog?
3. Why was the dog killed so brutally?
4. Why does the boy react so strangely upon finding the dog?
5. Why is the boy walking around in the middle of the night in the first place instead of lying in bed asleep?
6. Where are his parents?
7. Why does the story start with a dead dog instead of a dead human being as is usual in most other murder mystery novels?
8. What is unusual about Christopher's choice of words?
What do you think of the police officers' way of treating Christopher? How do you think you would react if you were the policeman?
Who is Siobhan? What do you think her job is? What does she do for Christopher?
What kind of book is Christopher writing? Why? Why will there be no jokes in his book?
What happened when Christopher got to jail? What were some of the things that he had with him? What does this say about him?
What are the two reasons Christopher finds people confusing?
Why should metaphor be called lies? How does he feel about lies?
What does father show that he loves Christopher without touching him?
Why are similes okay and better than metaphors?
What happens to Christopher's mother?
What the text says ...
What it means...
Anything curious....
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