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Before you read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night‐Time it would be beneficial to know some facts regarding Asperger syndrome and the author. Also provided for you are some study guide questions which should only act as a springboard for your own critical thinking about the novel. Information for this section has been directly taken and some information has been paraphrased from “Asperger Syndrome Fact Sheet”compiled by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/asperger/detail_asperger.htm What is Asperger’s Syndrome? Asperger syndrome (AS) is a developmental disorder. Individuals who have this disorder may have one or several of the following characteristics: 1. limited interests or an unusual preoccupation with a particular subject to the exclusion of other activities 2. repetitive routines or rituals 3. peculiarities in speech and language, such as speaking in an overly formal manner or in a monotone, or taking figures of speech literally 4. socially and emotionally inappropriate behavior and the inability to interact successfully with peers 5. problems with non-verbal communication, including the restricted use of gestures, limited or inappropriate facial expressions, or a peculiar, stiff gaze 6. clumsy and uncoordinated motor movements AS is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), one of a distinct group of neurological (brain) conditions characterized by an impairment in language and communication skills, as well as repetitive or restrictive patterns of thought and behavior. Other ASDs include: classic autism, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (usually referred to as PDD-NOS). Parents usually sense there is something unusual about a child with AS by the time of his or her third birthday, and some children may show symptoms as early as infancy. Unlike children with autism, children with AS keep their early language skills. Motor development delays – crawling or walking late, clumsiness – are sometimes the first sign of the disorder. Experts in population studies conservatively estimate that two out of every 10,000 children have the disorder. Boys are three to four times more likely than girls to have AS. Adapted from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV and the International Classification of Diseases - 10 Why is it called Asperger syndrome? In 1944, an Austrian pediatrician named Hans Asperger observed four children in his practice who had difficulty functioning, fitting in, and becoming part of a social group with their peers. Although their intelligence appeared normal, the children lacked nonverbal communication skills (reading facial expressions and body movements), failed to demonstrate empathy (understanding how others feel) with their peers, and were physically clumsy. Their way of speaking was either disjointed (lacking a sequenced pattern) or overly formal, and their all-absorbing interest in a single topic dominated their conversations. Dr. Asperger called the condition “autistic psychopathy” and described it as a personality disorder primarily marked by social isolation. Asperger’s observations, published in German, were not widely known until 1981, when an English doctor named Lorna Wing published a series of case studies of children showing similar symptoms, which she called “Asperger’s” syndrome. Wing’s writings were widely published and popularized. AS became a distinct disease and diagnosis in 1992, when it was included in the tenth published edition of the World Health Organization’s diagnostic manual, International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), and in 1994 it was added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), the American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostic reference book. What are some common signs or symptoms? The most distinguishing symptom of AS is a child’s obsessive interest in a single object or topic to the exclusion of any other. Some children with AS have become experts on vacuum cleaners, makes and models of cars, even objects as odd as deep fat fryers. Children with AS want to know everything about their topic of interest and their conversations with others will be about little else. Their expertise, high level of vocabulary, and formal speech patterns make them seem like little professors. Children with AS will gather enormous amounts of factual information about their favorite subject and will talk incessantly about it, but the conversation may seem like a random collection of facts or statistics, with no point or conclusion. Their speech may be marked by a lack of rhythm, an odd inflection (vocal pitch or loudness), or a monotone (same tone) pitch. Children with AS often lack the ability to modulate (control) the volume of their voice to match their surroundings. For example, they will have to be reminded to talk softly every time they enter a library or a movie theatre. Unlike the severe withdrawal from the rest of the world that is characteristic of autism, children with AS are isolated because of their poor social skills and narrow interests. In fact, they may approach other people, but make normal conversation impossible by inappropriate or eccentric (odd) behavior, or by wanting only to talk about their singular interest. Children with AS usually have a history of developmental delays in motor skills such as pedaling a bike, catching a ball, or climbing outdoor play equipment. They are often awkward and poorly coordinated with a walk that can appear either stilted or bouncy. Many children with AS are highly active in early childhood, and then develop anxiety or depression in young adulthood. Other conditions that often co-exist with AS are ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), tic disorders (such as Tourette syndrome), depression, anxiety disorders, and OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) Do children with AS get better? What happens when they become adults? With effective treatment, children with AS can learn to cope with their disabilities, but they may still find social situations and personal relationships challenging. Many adults with AS are able to work successfully in mainstream jobs, although they may continue to need encouragement and moral support to maintain an independent life. Information in this section was reproduced from the Kirkwood Public Library, Kirkwood, Missouri About the Author Mark Haddon was born in Northampton in 1962. He studied for a BA in English at Merton College, Oxford, graduating in 1981. Mark has packed a lot into his career over the years since graduating, with a spell working as a live‐in volunteer for someone with MS to working a string of part‐time jobs in London, from theatre box office to bicycle mail order work. Between 1983‐4 Mark returned to studying to complete an MSc in English Literature at Edinburgh University. Following this Mark held part‐time positions for Mencap and several other organizations, working with children and adults with a variety of mental and physical handicaps. At this time he was also involved in illustration work for a number of magazines and has been a cartoonist for the New Statesman, Spectator, Private Eye, Sunday Telegraph and Guardian for which he co‐wrote a cartoon‐strip, Men ‐ A User’s Guide. After a year living in Boston, Massachusetts (1997‐1998) with his wife, they moved back to England and, dissatisfied with his illustration work because it was causing him headaches, he took up abstract painting, which he now regularly sells. From 1996 until now, Mark has been involved with many television projects. He has won numerous awards, including two BAFTAs and The Royal Television Society Best Children’s Drama for Microsoap, for which he was the creator and writer of 12 out of 25 episodes. He has also written 2 episodes for the children’s TV series Starstreet and most recently, has been involved in a BBC screenplay adaptation of Raymond Briggs’s, 'Fungus and the Bogeyman'. All this still doesn’t make mention of Mark’s increasingly successful career as an author, with his first children’s picture book, Gilbert’s Gobstopper published in 1987 by Hamish Hamilton. Since then he has gone on to write and illustrate numerous children’s books including the popular Agent Z'series for Bodley Head, of which Agent Z and the Penguin from Mars' was dramatized on BBC 1 in 1996. In 1994 Mark was shortlisted for the Smarties Prize for The Real Porky Philips published by A & C Black. In a publishing first, Mark’s latest book and first novel for older readers, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night‐time has been published simultaneously in two imprints. It is available for young adult readers from David Fickling Books and for adults under the Jonathan Cape imprint. It has sold co‐editions in no less than fifteen other countries. Mark now lives in Oxford with his wife, Sos Eltis, who is a fellow in English Literature at Brasenose College and their son Alfie. In his spare time, although it’s amazing to think that he might have some, Mark does marathon canoeing and as he puts it, ‘various other masochistic sports activities’. An Interview with the Author The Curiously Irresistible Literary Debut of Mark Haddon Dave Weich, Powells.com It's not just the hook, though the hook is peculiar and oddly affecting. "When I was writing," the author allows, "I really thought to myself, Who on Earth is going to want to read about a fifteen‐year‐old kid with a disability living in Swindon with his father? And I thought, I better make the plot good." The hook—the plot ? is significantly better than good, but it's the irresistible voice of Mark Haddon's young narrator, Christopher Boone, that elevates this literary debut to fantastic heights. It was 7 minutes after midnight. The dog was lying on the grass in the middle of the lawn in front of Mrs.

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