Cerebral Palsy In Out Of My Mind

This book is about Melody, a savvy 11 year old girl diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is a brain damage caused by brain injury. It affects body movement, muscle control, posture, and balance. But unlike other people who have cerebral palsy, Melody has a photographic memory. Imagine remembering everything you’ve ever seen, heard, smelled or tasted. You would be extraordinary! Sadly, Melody has no way of telling people she’s unique since she cannot speak. Melody explains her frustration by saying, ”Everybody uses words to express themselves. Except me. And I bet most people don’t realize the real power of words.” This quote brings me to the first lesson I’ve learnt from Out of My Mind. As Melody said, most of us don’t realize the

Each year, Spaulding Street sends a team to the Whiz Kids competition. The Whiz Kids competition is a contest that quizzes the brightest students from various elementary schools in trivia. The local rounds take place in a hotel. The first-place teams of the local rounds go to Washington, D.C., for the nationals. The winning team of the nationals gets a gold trophy and also receives a guest appearance on Good Morning America. Their school receives a check for two thousand dollars. Mr. Dimming the history teacher chooses the students who are going to be on the Whiz Kids team by having a test. The top four students who scored the highest on the test get a spot on the team. But when Melody comes in after school to take the test, Mr. Dimming objects. ”You know, I don’t think it’s appropriate for Melody to be here. This is not a recreational activity just for fun. The purpose is to choose our official team,” he says, ignoring Melody and looking straight at Catherine, Melody’s aide. Melody turns up the volume high on her MediTalker and says,” I am here to take the test.” Mr. Dimming responds, “ I don’t want you to get hurt if you don’t get a spot on the team, Melody”. Melody argues saying,” I’m tough.” Yet Mr. Dimming still objects. Catherine speaks up,” By law, she cannot be excluded.” Mr. Dimming finally allows Melody to take the