MODULE 3:

THE STRANGE
MOTIVATION
1. What do you think of people with autism? Why do you think
this way?
2. do they go through a lot of discrimination in to day’s society?
Explain?
3. do you know anyone who has autism? Are they different from
what you thought they would be like? Are they different from
the way popular culture portrays them? explain?.
PRE-READING
Take a survey of at least 10 people. Ask them the following
question:
1. Do you know a person with autism?
2. are you friends with him or her?
3. do you want to be friends with a person with autism?
4. describe people with autism.
Report your findings to the class and discuss how you feel about
the results.
BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE
The website of autism Science Foundation (2015) defines
autism as follows:
• Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a complex set of
neurological disorders that severely impair social,
communicative, and cognitive functions.
• Individuals with ASD suffer from cognitive impairments,
although same have typical or above average Iqs.
• Typical ASD behaviors include stereotyped actions (hand
flapping, body rocking), insistence on sameness, resistance to
change, and, in some cases, aggression or self-injury
• Between 30% and 50% of people with autism have seizures.
• Autism was originally believed to be a form of schizophrenia
brought on by a traumatic experience or bad parenting. This is
not the case as scientific studies have proven.
 people with autism often face discrimination from members
of society. In school, they are often bullied and misunderstood.
The discrimination is not limited to the school setting, and there
are real-world consequences to this discrimination. This can be
seen in Sarah Cassidy’s (2015) new article in The Independent,
which states, “More than the a third adults with autism have
been bullied or discriminated against at work, the largest ever
survey on the condition has found. Meanwhile, 43 percent said
they had left or lost a job because of their autism, the poll by the
National Autistic Society (NAS) concluded.”
 Many people do not understand that autism cannot be
treated. In a world where difference can be a source of
conflict or ridicule, there is a need to be more
understanding and open to people’s differences.
The story you are about to read is written from the
perspective of a person with autism it is an excerpt from a
novel, and the narrator is writing a murder mystery about
who killed a dog in his neighborhood. Funny and wise,
this excerpt shows a glimpse of what it is like to have
autism.
THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE
DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME
[EXCERPT]
BY MARK HADDON
(ENGLAND)
 I find people confusing
This is for two main reasons
The first main reason is that people do a lot
of talking without using any words. Siobhan
says that if you raised one eyebrow it can mean
lots of different things. It can mean “ I want to
do sex with you” and it can also mean “ I think
that what you said was very stupid.”
 Siobhan also says that if you closed your
mouth and breath out loudly through your nose, it
can mean that you re relaxed, or that you are bored,
or that you are angry, and it all depends on how
much air comes out of your nose and how fast and
what shape your mouth is when you do it how you
are sitting and what you said just before and
hundreds of other things which are too complicated
to work out in a few seconds.
 The second main reason that people often talk using metaphors. These are
examples of metaphors:

I laughed my socks off.

He was the apple of her eye.
They had a skeleton in the cupboard.
We had a real pig of a day.
The dog was stone dead.

The world metaphor means carrying something from one place to another.
And it comes from the Greek words, and it is when you describe something
by using a word for something that it isn’t. this means that 6the word
metaphor is a metaphor.
 my name is metaphor. It means carrying Christ and it comes
from the Greek words (which means Jesus Christ) and it was the
name given to St. Christopher because he carried Jesus Christ
across a river.
This makes you a wonder what he was called before he
carried Christ across the river. But he wasn’t Called anything
because this is an apocryphal story, which means that it is a lie,
too.
Mother used to say that it meant Christopher was a nice
name because it was a story about being kind and helpful, but I do
not want my name to mean a story about being kind and helpful. I
want my name to mean me.
GUIDE QUESTIONS:
1. What are you reactions to the story? How is it different from your expectations?
2. Did you find the story funny? Why?
3. How does the story change the way you look at people with autism? Why?
4. What do you think of Christopher’s understanding metaphors? Do you think he is right or wrong----or
is he both/ explain you answer.
5. Would you call him intelligent? Why or why not?
6. Does he make you look at things in a different way? Why is that important?
7. Do you agree with him that people are confusing? Why or why not?
8. Could you relate with him? Why or why not?
9. He ends the story with the sentence, “ I want my name to mean me .” what does that mean?
10. what is the social significance of the story?
AFTER READING
VIEWING
With your class, watch videos of the Special
Olympics on you tube. After you watch the
videos, comment in how you feel about the
videos. Do you think you could ever achieve
such athletic greatness even when the odds are
stacked up against you?
EVALUATION
With a small group, create a manifesto about your
actions regarding children with special needs. Wright how
you will treat them, the kind of language you should use
when discussing them, as well as the kind of language that
is not acceptable. Include research or case studies that you
think are relevant to the manifesto to further your case.
Discuss how special-needs children should be treated in
school. Write this down and report it to the class.
ENRICHMENT
From the manifestos when by the small
groups, create a class manifesto that reflects
the view of the class. Have this posted as
status in your Facebook account or in your
class Facebook group. Have this written in
manila paper or card board, and display it
on the walls of your classroom.
THANK YOU FOR
WATCHING
MAY ANN MAGSINO