Wake Reads Together Concludes Its Third Season

3/8/2005

All area residents are invited to attend the finale program for the 2005 Wake Reads Together community reading program on March 19, 2005, at the N.C. Museum of History, from 2-4:30 p.m. Guests will view the documentary Refrigerator Mothers, hear a panel of parents of children with autism, and find information from area agencies that provide services to patients and families with autism. The event is free to the public.

The Wake Reads Together title for 2005 is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. It is narrated by an autistic teenager, who, in trying to solve a local mystery, learns a great deal about his family and his own abilities. Readers, in turn, have learned a great deal about autism and have been talking about the diagnosis and its effects on families in countywide book discussions.

Refrigerator Mothers

is a documentary profiling the experiences of mothers from 1950 through 1970 who were "blamed" for the autistic diagnosis of their children because they were said to have withheld love from their young children. The documentary features the poignant stories of seven of these mothers.

A panel discussion, representing three generations of parents with autistic children, will talk about the social transitions of the diagnosis and relate their own experiences from a local perspective.

In the lobby of the Museum, agencies will have information about services and some items for sale produced by autistic clients. These agencies include the Autism Society of North Carolina, TEACCH, and the Center for Creative Living.

For more information, click here or contact the Wake Reads Together co-chairs, Brandy Hamilton, Southeast Regional Library, 662-2258, and Janet Morley, East Regional Library, 217-5318.

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