Schuyler's Monster by Robert Rummel-Hudson

Like this passage from the beginning of the book: His no-holds-barred humor made me laugh out loud. But my favorite thing about this book is that Rummel-Hudson treats it with a mix of poignancy and sarcasm that brings just as many laughs as tears. If it sounds like a bummer, you're right. And then it took years after that to finally get Schuyler the assistive technology and schooling that would help her do her best. It took years and endless evaluations to finally arrive at the correct diagnosis. At first doctors thought Schuyler might be deaf, then they thought she might have an autism spectrum disorder. He describes the frustrating and devastating process of getting a correct diagnosis.

Rummel-Hudson chronicles his journey with his daughter from before she was born up until she's about seven. And this is a kid who's got a lot to say. Schuyler's got this monster, this brain thing that's keeping her from speaking. Good luck getting patrons to spell it right. Hold up, I have to pause for a minute and tell you that Schuyler is pronouced 'Sky-ler'. It's an extremely rare disorder that results in Schuyler's inability to speak. The monster, in this case, is a congenital brain malformation called bilateral perisylvian polymicrogyria.

This book is about one such punky, adorably irresistible daughter. And like you know his punky, adorably irresistible daughter. And we blog readers know better than anyone how following someone's blog can make you feel like you know him. I've just been reading his blog for the past few years. I've never met him, never talked to him, never emailed him. Now, let me preface this by saying that I don't know Rob. And it's a book I think y'all should all read. A book I've been waiting for for literally years. Wha what? I'm reviewing a grownup book? Um. Schuyler's Monster by Robert Rummel-Hudson.