Serendipity with a side of caution

I just finished reading Inside Out Girl, by Canadian author Tish Cohen. It's the story of Olivia, a little girl with Non-verbal Learning Disorder (NLD), and of the people in her life.

Before reading this book, I'd never heard of NLD, but my understanding now is that it's a disorder that presents somewhat like and can often be conflated with Asperger's Syndrome. People with NLDs will often be very good with verbal learning and with using the meanings of words, but will have trouble understanding and gaining information from non-verbal cues, such as tone, facial expression, body language, symbols, etc. In addition, they may have fine motor difficulties, and other symptoms.

I sometimes have instances where I have to wonder if the universe is trying to tell me something very specific. You know that "huh" moment that comes when you pick up a book for no particular reason or just because it's been on your to-read list for a while or whatever, and it turns out to deal with the exact question that's been puzzling you recently, or to contain a direct solution to your current worry, even though you had no thought of these things when you chose it? That's what I felt while reading this book. Olivia's characteristics, the ones that are linked to her LD, remind me very much of a student that I have this year whom I've been puzzling over, and whom everyone -- parents, teachers, peers -- is kind of uncertain exactly how to help and interact with.

Sadly, Inside Out Girl does not contain answers, but what it did give me was lots of insight into the problems that a young person like Olivia might have, both academically and socially, and the neurological bases for those problems -- which helps me think of or look for ways to access strengths and bypass weaknesses. Also, knowing that the situation with my student is not a unique or unknown one tells me that I might find still more insight out there.

As for the book itself, I really enjoyed it. I fell in love with most of Cohen's characters, and was really into their stories. One thing that impressed me was that the author didn't cop out with a completely happy ending filled with miracles and rainbows. Bad things happened, bad choices were made, consequences stuck. But the fact that it managed to be very far from depressing with all that said, made me happy. I like happy endings. I like smart happy endings better.

I'm already onto my next Tish Cohen book. So far so good.