Rules

Lord, C. (2008). Rules. NY: Scholastic.

Catherine is a typical twelve year old. Her brother David is not a typical eight year old. The story starts off with Catherine babysitting her brother David who needs to have a specific set of rules for pretty much anything. Not because he is a trouble kid, or because he is spoiled, but because he is Autistic and he need things explained to him a certain way. Catherine is excited to meet her new neighbor because she needs a friend but when she finally meets Kristi is disappointed that her brother doesn't make a good impression. Living with a special needs brother is not easy for Catherine, and although some may view her "concerns" as selfish, one can only sympathize for her situation. She isn't selfish or unsympathetic, she is just a young girl trying her best to cope with her situation while making her brother comfortable. When she gets close to her friend Jason, she experiences the same dilemma. Will she continue to care what other people will think of her for having a disabled brother and a disabled friend? Sometimes you've gotta work with what you've got...

My niece was diagnosed with Autism when she was four years old. I understand Catherine because as much as I love Jazmin, and as much as I want to protect her from everything, we can't control other people's reactions towards her. She will be 20 years old in February and is currently a college student. Yes, we are incredibly proud of her accomplishment. He graduated in 2015 with Honors and passed her STAAR tests the first time she took them. And we are talking about a girl who didn't start talking until she was in third grade. Wow! Right? Jazmin was my student her senior year and it was 

difficult for me because well, Jazmin tends to say what is on her mind, she has absolutely NO filter, and although I understand this, and her bluntness does not affect me, it sometimes affected those around her. I believe that this lack of sympathy from others is due to ignorance. Our society is an uneducated, selfish society where a great amount of people are heartless and are so unthoughtful. What mattered to me is that Jazmin was a happy kid and she did great in school becaue of her hardwork. So who's to say her disability hindered her success? People with conditions or disabilities can be just as successful as those without...we just have to be open minded and okay with that.

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