Matteo Musso wrote this book when he was 13 years old. He lost his ability to speak at age 15 months and was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 3. This book was written one letter at a time by Matteo pointing to a letter on a letter board and his mother recording it on paper. Matteo communicates using SOMA RPM (Rapid Prompting Method). Matteo was first able to communicate using this method in April 2015. He told his mother that he wanted to write this book in August 2015. A fast learner for someone who was "silent" the first 12 years of his life! It's remarkable.
I had the priviledge of hearing Matteo (& his mother) speak at an ARRM Conference a few years ago. (ARRM stands for Association of Residential Resources in Minnesota.) Matteo is an intelligent and talented young man. He writes poetry, which is included in this book. What I love most about Matteo is his positivity. His best friend is Jesus. He feels called by God to speak for those living with autism. His comments and observations are extremely helpful since I work with people on the Autism Spectrum.
Six key things he wants people to know when communicating with people living with autism:
1) Talk to everyone in full sentences and assume they understand, even if they can't respond to you.
2) When someone has brain damage, other parts of the brain can make up for the damaged part, so please give them age-appropriate, stimulating information, no matter what their age or situation.
3) Challenge people living with autism with enthusiastic support and confidence that they can always learn new things.
4) Please know that we are all extra sensitive to emotions; our own and those around us.
5) Challenge yourself to be totally present with us.
6) Believe that we have joy in us.
Matteo states that we CHOSE to help them live better lives. "Having choices is a luxury of the human condition but it also comes with responsibility. People do choose their paths in some respects, and in others, they only choose their reactions to circumstances." (Pg 109) Wise beyond his years.
Wendy's Rating: *****
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