Dear Sharon Draper,

Reading Out of My Mind has helped me understand other people better. I don't have cerebral palsy, like the character Melody. I don't need a device to communicate. My life is so different from Melody's life. I can take part in a regular conversation about the St. Louis Cardinals. I don't need an aide to help me. I have two siblings, a brother and a sister. My sister is free of disabilities too. My brother is a different story.
My brother has difficulty expressing his words because he has a form of autism. Like Melody, he tries to tell people many things, and like Melody he gets frustrated when people don't understand him. Similar to Melody, he has a device to communicate, but unlike Melody's, my brother's device is quite complicated to operate.
Because of his talking complications, people don't understand him, and sadly he gets frustrated. If I had trouble expressing myself, I would be frustrated, too. For example, if I couldn't tell my parents that I hated peas, and they kept giving me peas, or if I couldn't tell them that I love eggnog and they kept offering me carrot juice…I think you get the picture. When my brother gets frustrated, sometimes his actions speak louder than words. He might tear paper or throw things. Before I read your book, I never understood how to help him.
Then, I read your book. Though cerebral palsy is different from autism, there are some things in common. People with cerebral palsy or autism are challenged by symptoms whether it's lack of mobility or lack of expression. Also people with autism are not dumb and the same goes for people with cerebral palsy. Reading Out of My Mind gave me a different perspective about these challenges. It is the only book I have read that was from the impaired person's perspective. I could vividly see what Melody was thinking.
Your book made me think differently about my brother and begin to put myself in his shoes. I began to help him express his feelings. For example, when I ask him a question, I give him time to respond rather than ask him over and over again like I used to. I also have learned how to interact with my brother. We wrestle together and chase each other around the house. Seeing my brother's winning smile when we play has made me realize that we have a very special bond that no one can break.
It is important for Melody to feel confident in order to succeed, and that's very important for my brother too, just as it is for any of us. When Melody participated in the Whiz-Kids competition, her family and caregiver supported her and helped her study which gave her the confidence to win. It is also vital for my brother to experience success . When he brings my mom the iPad to watch videos, we don't overlook it. We praise him for doing it. This gives him the confidence to do better and progress. If he hides in the closet and stuffs his face with chocolate truffles, we don't get upset. Instead, we take the bag away, tell him to ask us first…then we stuff our faces with chocolate. This makes him laugh, and it makes us happy. When he flashes his million dollar smile at us as we are eating chocolate, it sends an unspoken message that words could never express.
Now I know that my brother can be successful. Melody didn't give up. She studied very hard and then aced the final test to get into the Whiz-Kids competition. This made me think that my brother could do something similar so that people around him would realize how intelligent he is. He works so hard, and I am confident it will pay off.
Before I read your book, I thought my brother didn't understand me. After I read your book, I realized I was wrong. He understood me. The only person who didn't understand anything was me. Thanks for writing this amazing book that helped me to understand my brother.

Jayanth Uppaluri
9
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