Degenerative Neurological Disorders In Martin Pistorius's Ghost Boy

Ghost Boy by Martin Pistorius is a powerful novel that follows Martin, who was diagnosed with an unknown degenerative neurological disorder that affected his physical body and his speech. In 1988, Martin’s condition started with a sore throat, which then led to his body weakening and slowing down his speech and memory as well. Martin quotes himself as “normal” up until he was about 12 years old when the degenerative disorder started to take effect on his body. “I had no memories or sense of a past, I was sure I was a child and the voices were speaking about a soon-to-be man,” (Pistorius 11) he explains that from a certain period between his symptoms getting worse and his sixteenth birthday, he can’t remember anything. From the age of 16 and

During his time in the care facilities he has come to learn a lot about reading human gestures and moods/emotions. He explains a lot about how you can tell when certain caregivers are only there to get the day over with and others are actually there to help, the way to handle/care for him differs. His favorite caregiver, who became his good friend, Virna, was always gentle and nice to him. Martin goes on to share some of his most horrid stories of his abuse in a care facility, where he had to endure physical and mental abuse, along with sexual assault. He would count down the second until his family would arrive to take him back home. His stories of abuse shed light on how people take advantage of others and treat them like they are nothing. Martin and his family were soon introduced to Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), this would help Martin communicate through switches, either a lolly switch or a wobble switch. Although he would only have a 250 word vocabulary, it is an amazing start to his communication journey, from this device he would finally be able to make his own

They eventually got married and love the UK. I think this book is truly inspiring and educational. I learned a lot about Martin’s experience from how he viewed everyone else. There were many little things that I didn't realize were an issue or even happened until I read Martin’s POV. He was able to see the true side of certain people’s behavior with him, the ones who cared and the ones who didn’t. He was able to see a different side to people as they shared their deepest darkest secrets with him, thinking that he had no idea what they were saying. He witnessed the limits of his parents' frustrations and the horrid acts of sick and abusive caregivers, but he also witnessed true goodness in certain people. When Martin was finally given the opportunity to communicate, he didn’t know that he was even able to make his own decisions. This was a very hard concept for me to comprehend, because from my perspective, I've been making decisions my whole life, but Martin essentially forgot that he was able to choose what he wanted. It’s important to note that speech and communication can limit almost everything in your daily