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A look at life through the lens of Asperger’s Syndrome
Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime
number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand
to be touched. And he detests the color yellow
This improbable story of Christopher's quest to investigate the suspicious death of a neighborhood dog makes
for one of the most captivating, unusual, and widely heralded novels in recent years.
Step #1: Writing Prompt
 Respond to the following: Imagine you could not discern facial expressions, understand sarcasm,
and you literally interpreted metaphors such as “it’s raining cats and dogs.” What obstacles would
you encounter on a daily basis and how would your social interactions be a constant challenge? How
would these impediments impact you academically, emotionally, and psychologically?
Step #2: Read the following 3 articles:
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Handout #1- “Asperger’s Syndrome” by Stephen M. Edelson, Ph.D.
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Handout #2- Frequently Asked Questions about Autism
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Handout #3- “The Savant Syndrome: Islands of Genuis” by Darold A. Treffert, M.D.
Step #3: Answer the 10 questions that relate to Asperger’s Syndrome and the three handouts above
Step #4: Research people with Asperger’s
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Research three examples of famous people who have been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome.
Justify why this famous person or famous character may have this disease by citing traits and
characteristics they embody which are often associated with Asperger’s.

Draft a short biography of the three individuals and then explain what traits each has that are
associated with Asperger’s
Step #5: Read Chapter 1 from the Sherlock Holmes mystery The Hound of Baskervilles.
Step #6: Read the book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
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Answer the guided reading questions for the book and prepare a summary of the novel to share with
your peers.

Then answer the 5 questions that relate to the Sherlock Holmes Chapter from The Hound of
Baskervilles
Step #7: Write an essay based on the following criteria.

To demonstrate your understanding of the novel and all of the supplemental materials you addressed
during the project, please write a comprehensive essay on the novel using a critical lens. You must
provide direct quotes and/or evidence from the text to support your thesis. Page length: 2-3 pages

Write a comprehensive essay about Asperger’s Syndrome using one of the two critical lenses provided
below.
1. “Sometimes people are born with disabilities, but it’s communities that
handicap them.”-Anonymous
2. “You see, but you do not observe.” Sir Arthur Doyle (1859-1930), (Sherlock
Holmes) A Scandal in Bohemia, 1892
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Handout #1
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Asperger's Syndrome
Written by Stephen M. Edelson, Ph.D.
Center for the Study of Autism, Salem, Oregon
Asperger's syndrome was first described by a German doctor, Hans Asperger, in 1944 (one year after Leo
Kanner's first paper on autism). In his paper, Dr. Asperger discussed individuals who exhibited many
idiosyncratic, odd-like behaviors. Often individuals with Asperger's syndrome have many of the
behaviors listed below:
Language:
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lucid speech before age 4 years; grammar and vocabulary are usually very good
speech is sometimes stilted and repetitive
voice tends to be flat and emotionless
conversations revolve around self
Cognition
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obsessed with complex topics, such as patterns, weather, music, history, etc.
often described as eccentric
I.Q.'s fall along the full spectrum, but many are in the above normal range in verbal ability and in
the below average range in performance abilities.
many have dyslexia, writing problems, and difficulty with mathematics
lack common sense
concrete thinking (versus abstract)
Behavior
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movements tend to be clumsy and awkward
odd forms of self-stimulatory behavior
sensory problems appear not to be as dramatic as those with other forms of autism
socially aware but displays inappropriate reciprocal interaction
Researchers feel that Asperger's syndrome is probably hereditary in nature because many families report
having an "odd" relative or two. In addition, depression and bipolar disorder are often reported in those
with Asperger's syndrome as well as in family members.
At this time, there is no prescribed treatment regimen for individuals with Asperger's syndrome. In
adulthood, many lead productive lives, living independently, working effectively at a job (many are
college professors, computer programmers, dentists), and raising a family.
Sometimes people assume everyone who has autism and is high-functioning has Asperger's syndrome.
However, it appears that there are several forms of high-functioning autism, and Asperger's syndrome is
one form.
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Handout #2
Frequently Asked Questions about Autism
Temple Grandin, Ph.D.,
Assistant Professor, Colorado State University
1. How do I know if my child has problems with sensory over sensitivity?
Sounds or visual stimuli that are tolerated by normal children may cause pain, confusion and/or fear in
some autistic children. Sensory over sensitivity can vary from very slight to severe. If your child
frequently puts his hands over his ears, this is an indicator of sensitivity to noise. Children who flick their
fingers in front of their eyes are likely to have visual sensitivity problems. Children who enjoy a trip to a
large super-market or a shopping mall usually have relatively mild sensory sensitivities. Autistic children
with severe sensory sensitivities will often have tantrums and other bad behavior in a shopping mall due
to sensory overload. These children are the ones who will most likely need environmental modifications
in the classroom. Older children and adults, who remain nonverbal and have very little language, often
have more severe sensitivities than individuals with good language. Children with auditory or visual
sensitivity will often have normal hearing and visual acuity tests. The problem is in the brain, whereas
the ears and eyes are normal.
2. What sights and sounds are most likely to cause sensory overload or confusion in the
classroom?
Every autistic child or adult is different. A sound or sight, which is painful to one autistic child, may be
attractive to another. The flicker of fluorescent lighting can be seen by some children with autism and
may be distracting to them. It is mostly likely to cause sensory overload in children who flick their fingers
in front of their eyes. Replacing fluorescents with incandescent bulbs will be helpful for some children.
Many children with autism are scared of the public address system, the school bells or the fire alarms,
because the sound hurts their ears. Screeching electronic feedback from public address systems or the
sound of fire alarms are the worst sounds because the onset of the sound canNOT be predicted. Children
with milder hearing sensitivity can sometimes learn to tolerate hurtful sounds when they know when
they will occur. However, they may NEVER learn to tolerate UNexpected loud noise. Autistic children
with severe hearing sensitivity should be removed from the classroom prior to a fire drill. The fear of a
hurtful sound may make an autistic child fearful of a certain classroom. He may become afraid to go into
the room because he fears that the fire alarm or the public address systems may make a hurtful sound. If
possible, the buzzes or bell should be modified to reduce the sound. Sometimes only a slight reduction in
sound is required to make a buzzer or bell tolerable. Duct tape can be applied to bells to soften the
sounds. If the public address system has frequent feedback problems, it should be disconnected.
Echoes and noise can be reduced by installing carpeting -- carpet remnants can sometimes be obtained
from a carpet store at a low cost. Scraping of chair legs on the floor can be muffled by placing cut tennis
balls on the chair legs.
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3. Why does my child avoid certain foods or always want to eat the same thing?
Certain foods may be avoided due to sensory over sensitivity. Crunchy foods such as potato chips may be
too loud and sound like a raging forest fire to children with over sensitive hearing. Certain odors may be
overpowering. When I was a child I gagged when I had to eat slimy foods like jello. However, some
limited food preferences may be bad habits and are not due to sensory problems. One has to be a careful
observer to figure out which foods cause sensory pain. For example, if a child has extreme sound
sensitivity, he should not be required to eat loud, crunchy foods; but he should be encouraged to eat a
variety of softer foods. When I was a child my parents made me eat everything except the two things
which really made me gag. They were under-cooked slimy egg whites and jello. I was allowed to have a
grilled cheese sandwich everyday for lunch, but at dinnertime I was expected to eat everything that was
not slimy.
To motivate a child to eat something he does not like, it is recommended to have a food he really likes
such as pizza right in front of him along with the food he dislikes. He is then told that he can have the
pizza after he eats a few bites of peas. It is important to have the pizza right there in front of him to
motivate eating something he does not like.
4. How do I toilet train my autistic child?
There are two major causes of toilet training problems in children with autism. They are either afraid of
the toilet or they do not know what they are supposed to do. Children with severe hearing sensitivity may
be terrified of the toilet flushing. The sound may hurt their ears. Sometimes these children can learn if
they use a potty chair which is located away from the frightening toilet. Due to the great variability of
sensory problems, some children may like to repeatedly flush the toilet but they are still not trained. The
thinking of some autistic children is so concrete that the only way they can learn is to have an adult
demonstrate to them how to use the toilet. They have to see someone else do it in order to learn. Some
children with very severe sensory processing problems are not able to accurately sense when they need
to use the bathroom. If they are calm they may be able to feel the sensation that they need to urinate or
defecate, but if they experience sensory overload they cannot feel it. This may explain why a child will
sometimes use the toilet correctly, and other times he will not.
5. Why do some autistic children repeat back what an adult has said or sing TV commercials?
Repeating back what has been said, or being able to sing an entire TV commercial or children's video is
called 'echolalia.' Echolalia is actually a good sign because it indicates that the child's brain is processing
language even though he may not be understanding the meaning of the words. These children need to
learn that words are used for communication. If a child says the word 'apple,' immediately give him an
apple. This will enable the child to associate the word 'apple' with getting a real apple. Some autistic
children use phrases from TV commercials or children's videos in an appropriate manner in other
situations. This is how they learn language. For example, if a child says part of a breakfast cereal slogan at
breakfast, give him the cereal.
Autistic children also use echolalia to verify what has been said. Some children have difficulty hearing
hard consonant sounds such as "d" in dog or "b" in boy. Repeating the phrase helps them to hear it.
Children who pass a pure tone hearing test can still have difficulty hearing complex speech sounds.
Children with this difficulty may learn to read and speak by using flash cards that have both a printed
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word and a picture of an object. By using these cards they learn to associate the spoken word with the
printed word and a picture. My speech therapist helped me to learn to hear speech by lengthening hard
consonant sounds. She would hold up a ball and say "bbbb all." The hard consonant sound of "b" was
lengthened. Some autistic children learn vowel sounds more easily than consonants.
6. How should educators and parents handle autistic fixations on things such as lawn mowers or
trains?
Fixations should be used to motivate schoolwork and education. If a child is fixated on trains, use his
interest in trains to motivate reading or learning arithmetic. Have him read about trains or do arithmetic
problems with trains. The intense interest in trains can be used to motivate reading. It is a mistake to take
fixations away, but the child needs to learn that there are some situations when talking about trains is not
appropriate.
The idea is to broaden the fixation into a less fixated educational or social activity. If a child likes to spin a
penny then start playing a game with the child where you and the child take turns playing with the penny.
This also helps to teach turn taking. A train fixation could be broadened in studying history. A highfunctioning child would be motivated to read a book about the history of the railroad. One should build
and broaden fixation into useful activities. My career in livestock equipment design started as a fixation
on cattle chutes. My high school science teacher encouraged me to study science to learn more about my
fixation.
High functioning autistic and Asperger teenagers need mentors to help them develop their talents into a
career skill. They need somebody to teach them computer programming or graphic arts. A local computer
professional could serve as a mentor or the individual may be able to take a programming class at a
community college. Many parents wonder where they can find a mentor for their teenager. Try posting a
notice on a bulletin board at a university computer science department or strike up a conversation with
the man in the supermarket checkout line who is wearing a badge with the name of a computer company
on it. I found one of my mentors in the business world when I met the wife of his insurance agent.
7. What is the difference between PDD and autism?
Autism and PDD are behavioral diagnoses. At the present time there are no medical tests for autism.
Autism is diagnosed based on the child's behavior. Both children diagnosed with autism and PDD will
benefit from education programs designed for autistics. It is essential that children diagnosed as PDD
receive the same education as children diagnosed with autism. Both autistic and PDD children should be
placed into a good early education program immediately after diagnosis. Children diagnosed with PDD
tend to fall into two groups: (1) very mild autistic symptoms, or (2) some autistic symptoms in a child
who has other severe neurological problems. Therefore, some children diagnosed as PDD may be almost
normal; and others have severe neurological problems such as epilepsy, microencephaly or cerebral
palsy. The problem with the autism and PDD diagnoses is that they are NOT precise. They are based only
on behavior. In the future, brain scans will be used for precise diagnosis. Today there is no brain scan that
can be used for diagnosing PDD nor autism.
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8. Why is Early Intervention important?
Both scientific studies and practical experience have shown that the prognosis is greatly improved if a
child is placed into an intense, highly structured educational program by age two or three. Autistic
children perform stereotypic behaviors such as rocking or twiddling a penny because engaging in
repetitive behaviors shuts off sounds and sights which cause confusion and/or pain. The problems is that
if the child is allowed to shut out the world, his brain will not develop. Autistic and PDD children need
many hours of structured education to keep their brain engaged with the world. They need to be kept
interacting in a meaningful way with an adult or another child. The worst things for a young two to five
year old autistic child is to sit alone watching TV or playing video games all day. His brain will be shut off
from the world. Autistic children need to be kept engaged; but at the same time, a teacher must be careful
to avoid sensory overload. Children with milder sensory problems often respond well to Lovaas-type
programs. However, children with more severe sensory processing problems may experience sensory
overload. There are two major categories of children. The first type will respond well to a therapist who
is gently intrusive and pulls them out of their world. I was this type. My speech therapist was able to
"snap me out of it" by grabbing my chin and making me pay attention. The second type of child has more
neurological problems, and they may respond poorly to a strict Lovaas program. They will require a
gentler approach. Some are 'mono-channel' because they cannot see and hear at the same time. They
either have to look at something or they have to listen. Simultaneous looking and listening may result in
sensory overload and shutdown. This type of child may respond best when the teacher whispers quietly
in a dimly illuminated room.
A good teacher needs to tailor his/her teaching method to the child. To be successful, the teacher has to
be gently insistent. A good teacher knows how hard to push. To be successful, the teacher has to intrude
into the autistic child's world. With some children the teacher can jerk open their "front door;" and with
other children, the teacher has to sneak quietly in their "back door."
9. Why does my child want to wear the same clothes all the time?
Stiff scratching clothes or wool against my skin is sandpaper ripping off raw nerve endings. I am not able
to tolerate scratching clothes. Autistic children will be most comfortable with soft cotton against their
skin. New underwear and shirts will be more comfortable if they are washed several times. It is often best
to avoid spray starch or fabric softeners that are placed in the dryer. Some children are allergic to them.
[Note: Caretakers and teachers should also avoid the use of perfume because some children hate the
smell and/or they are allergic to it.]
Even today at the age of 49, I have had to find good clothes and work clothes that feel the same. It takes
me up to two weeks to habituate to the feeling of wearing a skirt. If I wear shorts during the summer, it
takes at least a week before long pants become fully tolerable. The problem is switching back-and-forth.
Switching back-and-forth can be made more tolerable by wearing tights with skirts. The tights make the
skirt feel the same as long pants.
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Handout #3
The Savant Syndrome: Islands of Genius
Darold A. Treffert, M.D.
Savant Syndrome is a rare, but spectacular, condition in which persons with various developmental
disabilities, including Autistic Disorder, have astonishing islands of ability or brilliance that stand in stark,
markedly incongruous contrast to the over-all handicap. In some, savant skills are remarkable simply in
contrast to the handicap (talented savants). In others, with a much rarer form of the condition, the ability
or brilliance is not only spectacular in contrast to the handicap, but would be spectacular even if viewed
in a normal person (prodigious savant). There are fewer than 100 reported cases of prodigious savants in
the world literature. The condition was first named Idiot Savant in 1887 by Dr. J. Langdon Down (better
known for having named Down's Syndrome). He chose that term because the word "idiot" at that time
was an accepted classification level of mental retardation (IQ below 25) and the word "savant" meant
knowledgeable person derived from the french word savoir, meaning "to know". The term idiot savant
has been largely discarded now, appropriately, because of its colloquial, pejorative connotation and has
been replaced by Savant Syndrome. Actually Idiot Savant was a misnomer since almost all of the reported
cases have occurred in persons with IQs of 40 or above. The condition can be congenital or acquired in an
otherwise normal individual following CNS injury or disease. It occurs in males more frequently than in
females in an approximate 6:1 ratio.
Savant skills occur within a narrow but constant range of human mental functions, generally in six areas:
calendar calculating; lightening calculating & mathematical ability; art (drawing or sculpting); music
(usually piano with perfect pitch); mechanical abilities; and spatial skills. In some instances unusual
language abilities have been reported but those are rare. Other skills much less frequently reported
include map memorizing, visual measurement, extrasensory perception, unusual sensory discrimination
such as enhanced sense of touch & smell, and perfect appreciation passing time without knowledge of a
clock face. The most common savant skill is musical ability. A regularly re-occurring triad of musical
genius, blindness and autism is particularly striking in the world literature on this topic. Premature birth
history is commonly reported in persons with Savant Syndrome.
In some cases of Savant Syndrome a single special skill exists; in others there are several skills co-existing
simultaneously. The skills tend to be right hemisphere in type--nonsymbolic, artistic, concrete, directly
perceived--in contrast to left hemisphere type that tend to be more sequential, logical, and symbolic
including language specialization.
Whatever the special skills, they are always linked with phenomenal memory. That memory, however, is
a special type--very narrow but exceedingly deep--within its narrow confines. Such memory is a type of
"unconscious reckoning"--habit or procedural memory--which relies on more primitive circuitry (corticostriatal) than higher level (cortico-limbic) cognitive or associative memory used more commonly and
regularly in normal persons.
Approximately 10% of persons with Autistic Disorder have some savant abilities; that percentage is
much greater than in other developmental disabilities where in an institutionalized population that
figure may be as low as 1:2000. Since other developmental disabilities are much more common than
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autism, however, the actual percent of persons with Savant Syndrome turns out to be approximately half
Autistic Disorder and half other Developmental Disabilities.
Theories to explain Savant Syndrome include eidetic imagery, inherited skills, concrete thinking and
inability to think abstractly, compensation & reinforcement, and left brain injury with right brain
compensation. Newer findings on cerebral lateralization, and some imaging and other studies that do
show left hemisphere damage in savants, suggest that the most plausible explanation for Savant
Syndrome to be left brain damage from pre-natal, peri-natal or post-natal CNS damage with migratory,
right brain compensation, coupled with corresponding damage to higher level, cognitive (cortico-limbic)
memory circuitry with compensatory takeover of lower level, habit (cortical-striatal) memory. This
accounts for the linking of predominately right brain skills with habit memory so characteristic of Savant
Syndrome (Treffert, 1989). In talented savants, concreteness and impaired ability to think abstractly are
locked in a very narrow band but, nevertheless, with constant practice and repetition can produce
sufficient coding so that access to some non-cognitive structure or unconscious algorithms can be
automatically attained. In prodigious savants, some genetic factors any be operative as well, since
practice alone cannot account for the access to vast rules of music, art or mathematics that seems innate
in these persons. Once established, intense concentration, practice, compensatory drives and
reinforcement by family, teachers and others play a major role in developing and polishing the savant
skills and memory linked so characteristically and dramatically by this unique brain dysfunction.
One of the pre-natal CNS injury mechanisms, which has implications not only for Savant Syndrome but
other disorders as well in which male sex in over-represented, is the neurotoxic effect of circulating
testosterone on the left hemisphere in the male fetus based on observations and reported by Geschwind
and Galaburda. Since the left brain completes its development later than the right brain, it is at risk for
CNS damage for a longer period of time to circulating-testosterone (which can be neurotoxic) in male
fetuses and that left CNS damage, with right brain compensation, may account for the high male:female
ratio not only in Savant Syndrome, but in autism, stuttering, hyperactivity and learning disabilities as
well.
The movie Rain Man depicted an autistic savant and that term became almost a household word. It is
important to remember, however, that not all autistic persons are savants, and not all savants are autistic.
What one sees in Rain Man are savant skills (lightening calculating, memorization etc.) grafted on to
autism (narrowed affect, obsessive sameness, rituals etc). It is also important to point out that the savant
in the movie is a high functioning person with autistic disorder, but the disorder consists of an entire
spectrum of disabilities ranging from profoundly disturbed to high functioning; not all autistic savants
function at such a high level.
For many years it was feared that helping the savant achieve a higher level of functioning with treatment-"eliminating the defect"--would result in a loss of special skills, i.e. there would be a trade-off of right
brain special skills for left brain language acquisition, for example. That has not turned out to be the case.
Quite to the contrary, "training the talent" is a valuable approach toward increasing socialization,
language and independence. Thus the special skills of the savant, rather than being seen a odd, frivolous,
trivial or distracting, become a useful treatment tool as a conduit toward normalization in these special
persons. Some schools have begun to include persons with Savant Syndrome into classes for the gifted
and talented as a method of enhancing further this conduit toward normalization.
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There are probably fewer than 25 prodigious savants living at the present time. Some of those include
Leslie Lemke (music), Alonzo Clemens (sculpting), Richard Wawro (painting), Stephen Wiltshire
(drawing), Tony DeBlois (music) to name some. Other prodigious savants more recently described are in
England, Austrailia and Japan. A 1983 60 minutes program on Savant Syndrome was particularly useful
in bringing this remarkable condition to more general attention and of course the move Rain Man
catapulted the condition to national prominence. There have been a number of other television specials
and several movies about Savant Syndrome over the past 10 years. My book Extraordinary People:
Understanding Savant Syndrome reviews the condition in depth.
After reading the three articles discussing Asperger’s syndrome, answer the following 10
questions.
1. Name three characteristics of a person with Asperger’s syndrome?
2. Why do researchers believe that Asperger’s syndrome may be hereditary?
3. What is the difference between Asperger’s syndrome and autism?
4. Describe three problems that might arise due to sensory of over sensitivity.
5. What is meant by the term echolalia?
6. Do all people with autism exhibit the same symptoms?
7. What is a savant?
8. What are the six skills that are characteristic of a savant?
9. The novel you are about to read is told through the point of view of a boy with Asperger’s
syndrome. What do you expect from this novel?
10. Do you know anyone that is autistic or who has Asperger’s syndrome? If so, explain what they are
like. If you do not know someone personally, have you ever read about or seen a person with
autism in a movie?
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The Hound of the Baskervilles
Chapter 1
Mr. Sherlock Holmes
Mr. Sherlock Holmes, who was usually very late in the mornings, save upon those not infrequent occasions when
he was up all night, was seated at the breakfast table. I stood upon the hearth-rug and picked up the stick which
our visitor had left behind him the night before. It was a fine, thick piece of wood, bulbous-headed, of the sort
which is known as a "Penang lawyer." Just under the head was a broad silver band nearly an inch across. "To James
Mortimer, M.R.C.S., from his friends of the C.C.H.," was engraved upon it, with the date "1884." It was just such a
stick as the old-fashioned family practitioner used to carry -- dignified, solid, and reassuring.
"Well, Watson, what do you make of it?"
Holmes was sitting with his back to me, and I had given him no sign of my occupation.
"How did you know what I was doing? I believe you have eyes in the back of your head."
"I have, at least, a well-polished, silver-plated coffee-pot in front of me," said he. "But, tell me, Watson, what do you
make of our visitor's stick? Since we have been so unfortunate as to miss him and have no notion of his errand, this
accidental souvenir becomes of importance. Let me hear you reconstruct the man by an examination of it."
"I think," said I, following as far as I could the methods of my companion, "that Dr. Mortimer is a successful, elderly
medical man, well-esteemed since those who know him give him this mark of their appreciation."
"Good!" said Holmes. "Excellent!"
"I think also that the probability is in favour of his being a country practitioner who does a great deal of his visiting
on foot."
"Why so?"
"Because this stick, though originally a very handsome one has been so knocked about that I can hardly imagine a
town practitioner carrying it. The thick-iron ferrule is worn down, so it is evident that he has done a great amount
of walking with it."
"Perfectly sound!" said Holmes.
"And then again, there is the 'friends of the C.C.H.' I should guess that to be the Something Hunt, the local hunt to
whose members he has possibly given some surgical assistance, and which has made him a small presentation in
return."
"Really, Watson, you excel yourself," said Holmes, pushing back his chair and lighting a cigarette. "I am bound to
say that in all the accounts which you have been so good as to give of my own small achievements you have
habitually underrated your own abilities. It may be that you are not yourself luminous, but you are a conductor of
light. Some people without possessing genius have a remarkable power of stimulating it. I confess, my dear fellow,
that I am very much in your debt."
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He had never said as much before, and I must admit that his words gave me keen pleasure, for I had often been
piqued by his indifference to my admiration and to the attempts which I had made to give publicity to his methods.
I was proud, too, to think that I had so far mastered his system as to apply it in a way which earned his approval. He
now took the stick from my hands and examined it for a few minutes with his naked eyes. Then with an expression
of interest he laid down his cigarette, and carrying the cane to the window, he looked over it again with a convex
lens.
"Interesting, though elementary," said he as he returned to his favourite corner of the settee. "There are certainly
one or two indications upon the stick. It gives us the basis for several deductions."
"Has anything escaped me?" I asked with some self-importance. "I trust that there is nothing of consequence which
I have overlooked?"
"I am afraid, my dear Watson, that most of your conclusions were erroneous. When I said that you stimulated me I
meant, to be frank, that in noting your fallacies I was occasionally guided towards the truth. Not that you are
entirely wrong in this instance. The man is certainly a country practitioner. And he walks a good deal."
"Then I was right."
"To that extent."
"But that was all."
"No, no, my dear Watson, not all -- by no means all. I would suggest, for example, that a presentation to a doctor is
more likely to come from a hospital than from a hunt, and that when the initials 'C.C.' are placed before that
hospital the words 'Charing Cross' very naturally suggest themselves."
"You may be right."
"The probability lies in that direction. And if we take this as a working hypothesis we have a fresh basis from which
to start our construction of this unknown visitor."
"Well, then, supposing that 'C.C.H.' does stand for 'Charing Cross Hospital,' what further inferences may we draw?"
"Do none suggest themselves? You know my methods. Apply them!"
"I can only think of the obvious conclusion that the man has practised in town before going to the country."
"I think that we might venture a little farther than this. Look at it in this light. On what occasion would it be most
probable that such a presentation would be made? When would his friends unite to give him a pledge of their good
will? Obviously at the moment when Dr. Mortimer withdrew from the service of the hospital in order to start in
practice for himself. We know there has been a presentation. We believe there has been a change from a town
hospital to a country practice. Is it, then, stretching our inference too far to say that the presentation was on the
occasion of the change?"
"It certainly seems probable."
"Now, you will observe that he could not have been on the staff of ohe hospital, since only a man well-established in
a London practice could hold such a position, and such a one would not drift into the country. What was he, then? If
he was in the hospital and yet not on the staff he could only have been a house-surgeon or a house-physician -little more than a senior student. And he left five years ago -- the date is on the stick. So your grave, middle-aged
family practitioner vanishes into thin air, my dear Watson, and there emerges a young fellow under thirty, amiable,
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unambitious, absent-minded, and the possessor of a favourite dog, which I should describe roughly as being larger
than a terrier and smaller than a mastiff."
I laughed incredulously as Sherlock Holmes leaned back in his settee and blew little wavering rings of smoke up to
the ceiling.
"As to the latter part, I have no means of checking you," said I, "but at least it is not difficult to find out a few
particulars about the man's age and professional career."
From my small medical shelf I took down the Medical Directory and turned up the name. There were several
Mortimers, but only one who could be our visitor. I read his record aloud.
"Mortimer, James, M.R.C.S., 1882, Grimpen, Dartmoor, Devon.
House-surgeon, from 1882 to 1884, at Charing Cross Hospital.
Winner of the Jackson prize for Comparative Pathology, with essay entitled 'Is Disease a Reversion?'
Corresponding member of the Swedish Pathological Society.
Author of 'Some Freaks of Atavism' (Lancet 1882). 'Do We Progress?' (Journal of Psychology, March, 1883).
Medical Officer for the parishes of Grimpen, Thorsley, and High Barrow."
"No mention of that local hunt, Watson," said Holmes with a mischievous smile, "but a country doctor, as you very astutely
observed. I think that I am fairly justified in my inferences. As to the adjectives, I said, if I remember right, amiable,
unambitious, and absent-minded. It is my experience that it is only an amiable man in this world who receives testimonials,
only an unambitious one who abandons a London career for the country, and only an absent-minded one who leaves his stick
and not his visiting-card after waiting an hour in your room."
"And the dog?"
"Has been in the habit of carrying this stick behind his master. Being a heavy stick the dog has held it tightly by the middle, and
the marks of his teeth are very plainly visible. The dog's jaw, as shown in the space between these marks, is too broad in my
opinion for a terrier and not broad enough for a mastiff. It may have been -- yes, by Jove, it is a curly-haired spaniel."
He had risen and paced the room as he spoke. Now he halted in the recess of the window. There was such a ring of conviction
in his voice that I glanced up in surprise.
"My dear fellow, how can you possibly be so sure of that?"
"For the very simple reason that I see the dog himself on our very door-step, and there is the ring of its owner. Don't move, I
beg you, Watson. He is a professional brother of yours, and your presence may be of assistance to me. Now is the dramatic
moment of fate, Watson, when you hear a step upon the stair which is walking into your life, and you know not whether for
good or ill. What does Dr. James Mortimer, the man of science, ask of Sherlock Holmes, the specialist in crime? Come in!"
The appearance of our visitor was a surprise to me, since I had expected a typical country practitioner. He was a very tall, thin
man, with a long nose like a beak, which jutted out between two keen, gray eyes, set closely together and sparkling brightly
from behind a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. He was clad in a professional but rather slovenly fashion, for his frock-coat was
dingy and his trousers frayed. Though young, his long back was already bowed, and he walked with a forward thrust of his
head and a general air of peering benevolence. As he entered his eyes fell upon the stick in Holmes's hand, and he ran towards
it with an exclamation of joy.
"I am so very glad," said he. "I was not sure whether I had left it here or in the Shipping Office. I would not lose that stick for
the world."
"A presentation, I see," said Holmes.
"Yes, sir."
"From Charing Cross Hospital?"
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"From one or two friends there on the occasion of my marriage."
"Dear, dear, that's bad!" said Holmes, shaking his head. Dr. Mortimer blinked through his glasses in mild astonishment.
"Why was it bad?"
"Only that you have disarranged our little deductions. Your marriage, you say?"
"Yes, sir. I married, and so left the hospital, and with it all hopes of a consulting practice. It was necessary to make a home of
my own."
"Come, come, we are not so far wrong, after all," said Holmes. "And now, Dr. James Mortimer --"
"Mister, sir, Mister -- a humble M.R.C.S."
"And a man of precise mind, evidently."
"A dabbler in science, Mr. Holmes, a picker up of shells on the shores of the great unknown ocean. I presume that it is Mr.
Sherlock Holmes whom I am addressing and not --"
"No, this is my friend Dr. Watson."
"Glad to meet you, sir. I have heard your name mentioned in connection with that of your friend. You interest me very much,
Mr. Holmes. I had hardly expected so dolichocephalic a skull or such well-marked supra-orbital development. Would you have
any objection to my running my finger along your parietal fissure? A cast of your skull, sir, until the original is available, would
be an ornament to any anthropological museum. It is not my intention to be fulsome, but I confess that I covet your skull."
Sherlock Holmes waved our strange visitor into a chair. "You are an enthusiast in your line of thought, I perceive, sir, as I am in
mine," said he. "I observe from your forefinger that you make your own cigarettes. Have no hesitation in lighting one."
The man drew out paper and tobacco and twirled the one up in the other with surprising dexterity. He had long, quivering
fingers as agile and restless as the antennae of an insect.
Holmes was silent, but his little darting glances showed me the interest which he took in our curious companion.
"I presume, sir," said he at last, "that it was not merely for the purpose of examining my skull that you have done me the
honour to call here last night and again to-day?"
"No, sir, no; though I am happy to have had the opportunity of doing that as well. I came to you, Mr. Holmes, because I
recognized that I am myself an unpractical man and because I am suddenly confronted with a most serious and extraordinary
problem. Recognizing, as I do, that you are the second highest expert in Europe --"
"Indeed, sir! May I inquire who has the honour to be the first?" asked Holmes with some asperity.
"To the man of precisely scientific mind the work of Monsieur Bertillon must always appeal strongly."
"Then had you not better consult him?"
"I said, sir, to the precisely scientific mind. But as a practical man of affairs it is acknowledged that you stand alone. I trust, sir,
that I have not inadvertently --"
"Just a little," said Holmes. "I think, Dr. Mortimer, you would do wisely if without more ado you would kindly tell me plainly
what the exact nature of the problem is in which you demand my assistance."
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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
by Mark Haddon
1.
On pages 45–48, Christopher describes his "Behavioral Problems" and the effect they had on his
parents and their marriage. What is the effect of the unemotional style in which he relates this
information?
2.
Given Christopher's aversion to being touched, can he experience his parents' love for him, or can
he only understand it as a fact, because they tell him they love him? Is there any evidence in the
novel that he experiences a sense of attachment to other people?
3.
One of the unusual aspects of the novel is its inclusion of many maps and diagrams. How effective
are these in helping the reader see the world through Christopher's eyes?
4.
What challenges does The Curious Incident present to the ways we usually think and talk about
characters in novels? How does it force us to reexamine our normal ideas about love and desire,
which are often the driving forces in fiction? Since Mark Haddon has chosen to make us see the
world through Christopher's eyes, what does he help us discover about ourselves?
5.
Christopher likes the idea of a world with no people in it [p. 2]; he contemplates the end of the
world when the universe collapses [pp. 10–11]; he dreams of being an astronaut, alone in space
[pp. 50–51], and that a virus has carried off everyone and the only people left are "special people
like me" [pp. 198–200]. What do these passages say about his relationship to other human beings?
What is striking about the way he describes these scenarios?
6.
On pages 67–69, Christopher goes into the garden and contemplates the importance of description
in the book he is writing. His teacher Siobhan told him "the idea of a book was to describe things
using words so that people could read them and make a picture in their own head" [p. 67]. What is
the effect of reading Christopher's extended description, which begins, "I decided to do a
description of the garden" and ends "Then I went inside and fed Toby"? How does this passage
relate to a quote Christopher likes from The Hound of the Baskervilles: "The world is full of
obvious things which nobody by chance ever observes" [p. 73]?
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7.
According to neurologist Oliver Sacks, Hans Asperger, the doctor whose name is associated with
the kind of autism that Christopher seems to have, notes that some autistic people have "a sort of
intelligence scarcely touched by tradition and culture --- unconventional, unorthodox, strangely
pure and original, akin to the intelligence of true creativity" [An Anthropologist on Mars by Oliver
Sacks, NY: Vintage Books, 1995, pp. 252–53]. Does the novel's intensive look at Christopher's
fascinating and often profound mental life suggest that in certain ways, the pity that well-meaning,
"normal" people might feel for him is misdirected? Given his gifts, does his future look promising?
8.
Christopher experiences the world quantitatively and logically. His teacher Mr. Jeavons tells him
that he likes math because it's safe. But Christopher's explanation of the Monty Hall problem gives
the reader more insight into why he likes math. Does Mr. Jeavons underestimate the complexity of
Christopher's mind and his responses to intellectual stimulation? Does Siobhan understand
Christopher better than Mr. Jeavons?
9.
Think about what Christopher says about metaphors and lies and their relationship to novels [pp.
14–20]. Why is lying such an alien concept to him? In his antipathy to lies, Christopher decides not
to write a novel, but a book in which "everything I have written . . . is true" [p. 20]. Why do normal"
human beings in the novel, like Christopher's parents, find lies so indispensable? Why is the idea
of truth so central to Christopher's narration?
10.
Which scenes are comical in this novel, and why are they funny? Are these same situations also
sad, or exasperating?
11.
Christopher's conversations with Siobhan, his teacher at school, are possibly his most meaningful
communications with another person. What are these conversations like, and how do they
compare with his conversations with his father and his mother?
12.
One of the primary disadvantages of the autistic is that they can't project or intuit what other
people might be feeling or thinking --- as illustrated in the scene where Christopher has to guess
what his mother might think would be in the Smarties tube [pp. 115–16]. When does this deficit
become most clear in the novel? Does Christopher seem to suffer from his mental and emotional
isolation, or does he seem to enjoy it?
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13.
Christopher's parents, with their affairs, their arguments, and their passionate rages, are clearly in
the grip of emotions they themselves can't fully understand or control. How, in juxtaposition to
Christopher's incomprehension of the passions that drive other people, is his family situation
particularly ironic?
14.
On pages 83–84, Christopher explains why he doesn't like yellow and brown, and admits that such
decisions are, in part, a way to simplify the world and make choices easier. Why does he need to
make the world simpler? Which aspects of life does he find unbearably complicated or stressful?
15.
What is the effect of reading the letters Christopher's mother wrote to him? Was his mother
justified in leaving? Does Christopher comprehend her apology and her attempt to explain herself
[pp. 106–10]? Does he have strong feelings about the loss of his mother? Which of his parents is
better suited to taking care of him?
16.
Christopher's father confesses to killing Wellington in a moment of rage at Mrs. Shears [pp. 121–
22], and swears to Christopher that he won't lie to him ever again. Christopher thinks, "I had to get
out of the house. Father had murdered Wellington. That meant he could murder me, because I
couldn't trust him, even though he had said 'Trust me,' because he had told a lie about a big thing"
[p. 122]. Why is Christopher's world shattered by this realization? Is it likely that he will ever
learn to trust his father again?
17.
How much empathy does the reader come to feel for Christopher? How much understanding does
he have of his own emotions? What is the effect, for instance, of the scenes in which Christopher's
mother doesn't act to make sure he can take his A-levels? Do these scenes show how little his
mother understands Christopher's deepest needs?
18.
Mark Haddon has said of The Curious Incident, "It's not just a book about disability. Obviously, on
some level it is, but on another level . . . it's a book about books, about what you can do with words
and what it means to communicate with someone in a book. Here's a character whom if you met
him in real life you'd never, ever get inside his head. Yet something magical happens when you
write a novel about him. You slip inside his head, and it seems like the most natural thing in the
world" [http://www.powells.com/authors/haddon.html ]. Is a large part of the achievement of
this novel precisely this --- that Haddon has created a door into a kind of mind his readers would
not have access to in real life?
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19.
Christopher's journey to London underscores the difficulties he has being on his own, and the real
disadvantages of his condition in terms of being in the world. What is most frightening, disturbing,
or moving about this extended section of the novel [pp. 169–98]?
20.
In his review of The Curious Incident, Jay McInerney suggests that at the novel's end "the gulf
between Christopher and his parents, between Christopher and the rest of us, remains immense
and mysterious. And that gulf is ultimately the source of this novel's haunting impact. Christopher
Boone is an unsolved mystery" [The New York Times Book Review, 6/15/03, p. 5)]. Is this an
accurate assessment? If so, why?
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Questions for The Hound of the Baskervilles
1. Name some of the characteristics of Sherlock Holmes that might suggest that he has Asperger’s
syndrome.
2. Take the following quote and relate it to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time: “Some
people without possessing genius have a remarkable power of stimulating it.”
3. Christopher often notices things that other people take for granted. In The Hound of the Baskerville,
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle makes a joke of this when Watson asks Holmes how he knew Mortimer had a
curly-haired spaniel and the dog is standing at the door. Give an example of something that
Christopher notices that others may not.
4. Based on the following sentence, what conclusion can you draw about the similarity between Sherlock
Holmes and Christopher?: “Now is the dramatic moment of fate, Watson, when you hear a step upon
the stair which is walking into your life, and you know not whether for good or ill.”
5. Remark on the amount of detail Sherlock Holmes notices when first meeting Mortimer. Compare this
to the detail Christopher notices when meeting a person.
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