An author and educator's pioneering approach to helping autistic
students find their voices through poetry--a powerful and uplifting
story that shows us how to better communicate with people on the
spectrum and explores how we use language to express our seemingly
limitless interior lives.
Adults often find it difficult to communicate with autistic students and
try to "fix" them. But what if we found a way to help these kids use
their natural gifts to convey their thoughts and feelings? What if the
traditional structure of language prevents them from communicating the
full depth of their experiences? What if the most effective and most
immediate way for people on the spectrum to express themselves is
through verse, which mirrors their sensory-rich experiences and
patterned thoughts?
May Tomorrow Be Awake explores these questions and opens our eyes to a
world of possibility. It is the inspiring story of one educator's
journey to understand and communicate with his students--and the
profound lessons he learned. Chris Martin, an award-winning poet and
celebrated educator, works with non-verbal children and adults on the
spectrum, teaching them to write poetry. The results have been nothing
short of staggering for both these students and their teacher. Through
his student's breathtaking poems, Martin discovered what it means to be
fully human.
Martin introduces the techniques he uses in the classroom and celebrates
an inspiring group of young autistic thinkers--Mark, Christophe, Zach,
and Wallace--and their electric verse, which is as artistically dazzling
as it is stereotype-shattering. In telling each of their stories, Martin
illuminates the diverse range of autism and illustrates how each
so-called "deficit" can be transformed into an asset when writing poems.
Meeting these remarkable students offers new insight into disability
advocacy and reaffirms the depth of our shared humanity.
Martin is a teacher and a lifelong learner, May Tomorrow Be Awake is
written from a desire to teach and to learn--about the mind, about
language, about human potential--and the lessons we have to share with
one other.
