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Nervous Laughter

When I was eight years old, Uncle Russell came to visit. He was my mother’s cousin, but everyone called him Uncle Russell. He was twenty years old and had a severe case of cerebral palsy.

Russell was pigeon-toed as I had never seen before, causing his knees to face each other. He walked in a spastic, bouncing stumble. His hands were gnarled and bent at the wrist, fingers curled, in a way that my brother and I found impossible to imitate. His long neck was thick with muscles pulsating from the strain of holding his large, constantly moving head.

City Brights are prominent local citizens and experts with a unique Bay Area perspective that is often enlightening, sometimes infuriating and always thought-provoking.

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In Collaboration with Marin Autism Collaborative

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Upcoming Events:

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2009-2010 Marin Autism Lecture Series

In Partnership with Marin Autism Collaborative

2/9/10 Autism-a mother’s perspective

Laura Shumaker, Writer/Author and Rebecca Foust, Poet/Author

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A NEW MEMOIR REVEALS THE REALITIES OF AUTISM

LINK TO ORIGINAL ARTICLE

It was Matthew Shumaker’s strange obsession with wheels and drains that spurred the first nagging doubts. While other toddlers tumbled down the padded ramps at Gymboree, or giggled under a billowing parachute during the baby games, Matthew toddled away to examine the wheels on a small rolling cart.

Other children conversed. Matthew echoed what other people said. He didn’t make eye contact. And his attention could be completely derailed by the sight of water swirling down the sink.

KQED Radio: Not So Special Needs

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San Francisco Chronicle
January 15, 2006
Link to original article

Do you want me to come in with you while you get your haircut?” “No,” replies my 19-year-old son Matthew. “I want him to think I drove here by myself.”

When I suggest that he remove the junior sheriff sticker from his T-shirt before he goes in, he refuses.

“I want him to think I take care of bad guys.”

“A must-read for all families affected by autism, professionals who care for children and adults on the autism spectrum, and for those who wish to get a better understanding of what it is like to wear the shoes of a mother striving to do the best for her special-needs son.”

-Ricki G. Robinson, M.D., M.P.H.
Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Southern California School of Medicine; Scientific Advisory Board Member, “Autism Speaks.”

“In Laura Shumaker’s thoughtful portrait of her family’s struggle with autism, we explore the journey that anyone touched by disability must navigate. Her writing is elegant. Her lessons are invaluable.”