Non-Fiction Writing...

[hunters_retreat]

So... my OT made a comment to me yesterday and I can't get it out of my head.  She said that I should write a book about my experiences as a special needs mother, one with a child who is neurotypical as well and how we/i've handled it and my outlook on it all

Comments

[hunters_retreat]

Thank you! I think a lot of people want to feel that someone else has been through what they have. I mean, we all want to know we're not alone so I guess that in and of itself is a reason to look closely at this idea. I do want to give back to the community that's helped me and I love the idea of helping people come to terms with it. I mean... I went back to school to become an OT because I became so passionate about it in the last few years, so that says something I guess :P

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on it!

[alocine_89]

I'm not a big non-fiction reader, so I won't be much help here.

It does seem like something that would have a good audience, and I think books about this sort of subject matter are best written by people who have had real experience in it, so you'd do well, as well as helping people going through the same thing as you.

Aside from that, it might be healthy for you to write about your experiences from your own view, as opposed to using a character to express yourself... I'm not sure if I said that right, but hopefully you got my drift :P

[hunters_retreat]

I was thinking that too, but it was hard enough writing about some of this in fictionalized form. I know it will be a lot harder to write about myself. I guess the upside of that is that it just might be that much more therapeutic for me :P I can hope anyway. I think I might just work on it anyway and see what happens. If I don't like it, it's not like I have to show it to anyone :P

[chymom]

I have 4 kids that live with me. All four have ADHD and atleast one other problem. I would love to see how other people deal with things in every day live. It is a good way to show others who don't live day in and day out with the differnt things in live. How the little things most people take for granted are great things in others lives.

Its a great idea to give other people ideas on how to help there family and or others with the things that they face every day. So in answer to your quesiton I think it would be a great idea!!

[hunters_retreat]

*hugs* Thank you for letting me know how you feel about it. You're right, the small things really make a huge difference and people don't realize that. It's those things that really make (or break) a day sometimes!

[monkeyfun1]

When I was fostering the girl, I found that I was a mother of a special needs child in that she had autism. aspergers is the type she had and has since learned to become extremely high functioning with it through counseling. I don't know if this is common or not. I probably should read books about it, but after she left my life I kind of stopped doing the research. They (being her school counselors and others) also diagnosed her with other multi-lettered problems, but the aspergers was the most glaring problem and the one we concentrated on.
She also suffered from separation anxiety and the problems that causes. This was horrible for her, it caused nightmares and other problems with her appetite. Poor little mite.
To answer your question... I would probably read your book. I used to read multiple books at one time about different problems and occasionally still do. I like non fiction books.

[hunters_retreat]

Oh wow! First, I applaud you for being a foster parent... and especially for taking in a special needs child.

Yeah there are a lot of other diagnosis that come with ASD. Normally when you get one you get a slew of them. My son has always bordered on SPD and an anxiety disorder, but with all the help he's getting for the ASD, it seems overkill to try to diagnose those separately since I believe they all stem from the big one in the first place. Anxiety is a common problem for special needs kids. Hell, it's a problem for most people, let alone children who have a serious issue that needs addressed. You are an amazing person to have helped her out!

And thank you for sharing that! I think I just might start putting some words down, even if it's just a little at a time to see how it goes. Who knows... might post some of it here as well to see what people think :P

[vambrace]

I read a lot of non-fiction, because I am curious about everybody and everything. What I look for in non-fiction is a clear explanation, along with honest emotional reactions. Difficult to write when you're writing about yourself. I really loved your fic and thought that your portrayal of Alec rang so true that I thought at the time you must have had a lot of experience with the topic.

[hunters_retreat]

Thank you!

I agree, writing with that sort of honesty is very hard when you aren't hiding it behind fiction. There were a number of moments in What Happens To Us that were straight from my life and I had a huge amount of catharsis from writing it, but it was safe that way. It wasn't me out on the limb, because even when I told people that there was a lot of me in it, there was always a lot of my characters too.

I think this might be something worth doing though and the more I think about it, the more I can appreciate how much I would have liked to have someone else's story to read about too.