Vocabulary
Gathering information through your senses
perception
Christopher's "Behavioral Problems" are attributed to the fact he shows traits of...
Autism/Asperger's Syndrome
Make a list of a couple of unconventional stylistic choices Haddon makes
prime numbers, bolded words, equations, pictures, graphs, digressions, quotes...
What is cognition and metacognition?
Thinking; Thinking about your thinking
"Perhaps we should take a little walk in the park together. This is not the place to be talking about this kind of thing."
Mrs. Alexander
precise
Christopher specifically struggles with a certain type of communication. What is it?
Nonverbal communication
Why does Haddon have Christopher use digressions?
To show how Christopher's mind works.
What are the strengths of someone with Autism/Aspergers?
High intellectual ability; remarkable focus and persistence; heightened ability in recognizing patterns; impressive attention to detail
And x said, “What’s 261 times 864?”
And y thought about this and y said, “216,864.”...
And y said, “Is that right?”
And x said, “I haven’t got a bloody clue,” and he laughed.
x= Rhodri, y= Christopher
Which of our vocabulary words would describe someone or something that is different from the normal
unconventional
How does Christopher describe his memory?
a video recorder/DVD player
Why does Haddon have Christopher use diagrams and equations?
Because Christopher is aware he is very intelligent and feels he needs to "dumb things down" for his audience.
What are some of the weaknesses of someone with Autism/Aspergers?
Difficulty with conversation; difficulty with nonverbal communication; hypersensitivity to lights, sounds, tastes; anxiety
"I did not look at his face. I do not like looking at people’s faces, especially if they are strangers."
You could use this word to describe someone who can't let their food touch.
Quirky
What are some of Christopher's strengths as a detective?
His logical mindset; His focus and persistence; his determination; his attention to facts
Why does Haddon have Christopher use footnotes?
To add additional information.
What is the difference between long-term memory and working memory?
Long-term memory is permanent and working memory is only kept in the brain for a short amount of time
"Do not go asking anyone about who killed that bloody dog."
Father
When you're working hard for something, it becomes your...
endeavor
What are some of Christopher's weaknesses as a detective?
he is naive; if he can twist his father's words, he can twist a suspects words; he's so focused he can't consider other possibilities
Why does Haddon never have Christopher say he has Autism/Asperger's?
Because Haddon wanted Christopher to be a human first
Why is memory fragile? What affects how well a memory is encoded?
Intense emotion—whether times of great joy or extreme fear—can cause information to be permanently imprinted on long-term memory. At other times, though, traumatic emotions can interfere with memory storage, causing distortions in the memory or blocking the memory entirely…
"So I told myself I would not mess with things in his room. I would move them and then I would move them back. And he would never know I had done it…"
Christopher