Breaking Barriers: What's Mental Illness Got To Do With It?

Andrew Kopp, Bridget Walsh, Vanessa Mangovski  

Children’s & Adolescent Literature RED 547/511

Marcelle Haddix

April 21, 2014 

Breaking Barriers: What's Mental Illness Got To Do With It?

Part One: Introduction

This annotated bibliography is designed to highlight texts that explore themes of mental illness and health. Mental illness can manifest itself in many forms but is typically associated with a psychological or behavioral anomaly that impedes functioning in daily life. Since the advent of the disability rights movement in the 1970s, authors have increasingly been incorporating themes of physical disabilities, mental illness, and psychological health into literature to reflect efforts to include youths with disabilities in mainstream society. Over the past thirty years the United States education system has changed dramatically, particularly with regard to how children with disabilities are treated. Instead of relegation to self-contained classrooms (or, prior to that, different institutions entirely), most children with disabilities spend the majority of the school day in classrooms alongside their general education peers. Yet despite these spatial advances, many students with disabilities are shunned, overlooked, or merely tolerated by their peers. These responses are not always malicious; many general education children are simply hesitant to interact with children with disabilities because they do not know to treat them with the same kindness and respect that they would show anyone else.

           According to Bryan Crandall, “Disability becomes synonymous with second-class citizenship when teachers and schools use labels to exclude individuals with disabilities (2009, p.73).” Antero Garcia (2013) echoes these sentiments in his discussion of social outcasts, arguing that the voices and experiences of disadvantaged individuals are typically marginalized or omitted from popular media. As classrooms and communities become increasingly diverse, it is essential that children engage with literature exploring how mental abilities are not entirely representative of the persons underneath. Incorporating literature that reflects students own experiences into a culturally responsive curriculum can engage students by making learning more relevant and effective. As Lynch-Brown et.al point out (2011), finding materials that pertain to students’ personal lives is crucial for prevent students from dismissing literacy as irrelevant or threatening to their persona identities. Instead, teachers should strive to broaden the scope of their reading materials, such as by including texts on mental health and illness, to ensure that students of all abilities have the opportunity to read what they consider significant and relevant to their own lives.

            This bibliography includes texts suitable for students from third through twelfth grade but emphasizes texts for adolescents. Unlike most physical disabilities, mental illnesses can be difficult for young children to perceive because they are not always readily visible. Older readers may also feel more connected to texts about mental illnesses because they are typically more prevalent amongst adolescent and adult populations. While elementary children can certainly understand mental disorders like autism or ADHD, for instance, they may not be able to understand or relate to a character who is bulimic, depressed, or dependent on substances. This text set includes several genres to support learners with varied interests and learning styles. Many of these texts have been widely recognized as exceptional in content and delivery:

·        Still Alice was the winner of the 2008 Bronte Prize the 2011 Bexley Book of the Year Award 

·        Of Mice and Men was written by Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck

·        One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest won all five major Academy Awards (Best Picture, Actor in Lead Role, Actress in Lead Role, Director, and Screenplay)

·        The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time won the 2003 Whitbread Book of the Year and the 2004 Boeke Prize

By engaging with any of these texts via different activities (e.g. creating personal connections, comparing and contrasting themes between two texts, analyzing imagery and disability history), students will develop a comprehensive understanding of what disability means in 21st century America.

Part Two: Annotations

1. Cory Stories: A Kid’s Book About Living With ADHD ( Picture Book - Grade 3 and up)

Kraus, J. (2004). Cory stories: A kid’s book about living with adhd. Magination Press. 

 This text is about a young boy named Cory who is not sure why he has such a hard time paying attention in class or remembering to do his chores. After Cory visits a specialist, though, he learns that he has ADHD. Over the course of the book, Cory explains how attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder affects his life and how his teachers, parents, and doctor have taught him strategies for controlling his behavior. Kraus presents Cory’s story in short statements and vignettes that make it easy for children to grasp key information about ADHD even if they do not have strong comprehension skills.

This text is particularly valuable to children with ADHD because Cory is a character with which they can identify. As one of the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorders, ADHD affects millions of children in classrooms across the nation. Reading about Cory can help students with ADHD feel less alienated from their peers and recognize that there are numerous coping strategies to improve daily life. Cory Stories can also help readers of other abilities understand what it feels like to have ADHD.  While most students may know someone with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, they might not understand just how significantly it can influence social behavior or academic performance. By reading this book, students can gain an insider’s perspective on life with ADHD and develop empathy for individuals with disabilities, especially with regard to the notion that everyone has his or her own strengths and personal challenges.

            While children might only be able to read Cory Stories independently if they read at a third-grade level or higher, younger children can certainly benefit from hearing this story and engaging with the content in a variety of activities. This text would be an excellent vehicle for teaching students how to make text-to-self connections. The teacher could begin by giving a mini-lesson on making text-to-self connections by defining them and explaining their value in comprehending information. The teacher could then introduce and model several statements that can help generate text-to-self connections:

(Text-to-self) My life is like Cory’s because _____________.

 My life is different than Cory’s because _______________.

 If (an event) happened to me I would _________________.

Students will then read the text (or listen to the teacher read) and create three text-to-self connections to share with the class. To extend this activity, the teacher could incorporate Looking After Louis to teach students how to make text-to-text connections.

A trailer can be found at:

Cory Stories https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DN1O9llZZI.

2. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Feature Film - Grades 11 and 12)

Forman, M. (Director). Zaentz, S., & Douglas, M. (Producer). (1975). One flew over the cuckoo's nest [Motion picture]. United States: United Artists.

This film adaption of the 1962 novel of the same name chronicles Randle McMurphy’s antics in an Oregon mental institution. After receiving a brief criminal sentence to work on a prison farm, McMurphy feigns insanity to avoid manual labor and endure his setting in a more relaxed atmosphere. Unbeknownst to him, the ward is governed by the insidious Nurse Ratched who exercises absolute control by belittling and emasculating her patients. Over the course of the film, McMurphy incites the inmates to rebel against Ratched’s mindless routine and reassert their humanity. It is not until after McMurphy organizes a gambling ring, takes the inmates on an unauthorized fishing trip, and leads a vote to watch the World Series that he realizes Nurse Ratched has the power to keep him detained indefinitely. Realizing that he will never be able to defeat Ratched, McMurphy becomes increasingly desperate for freedom and plans an escape that ends up going horribly wrong.

            This Academy-Award winning film can educate students on the history of psychiatric institutionalization and special education in America. Although fictional in plot, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest accurately depicts the ways in which people with disabilities were institutionalized, dehumanized, and considered a burden unto society until the 1960s. Students will also learn how drastically disability rights have changed over the last four decades and understand the current challenges facing disability advocates within a historical context. The systems of oppression used throughout the film have relevance to students’ personal lives as well. Dale Harding, for instance, is mocked by his peers because of intellectual language while Billy Bibbit is bullied by Nurse Ratched and ends up committing suicide out of humiliation.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest would be most appropriate for classroom use in a high school setting because of its language and graphic content. After receiving students’ parental permission to screen this film (rated R), I would show the film in three sessions with time set aside for discussion. Students watch the film while recording character traits of McMurphy, Nurse Ratched, and several other prominent inmates. During discussion time, I would prompt students to consider whether any of the characters fit Dr. Spivey’s criteria for mental illness. I would then challenge students to consider the power dynamics expressed throughout the film and the extent to which they relate to our own society (e.g. bullying, the dangers of labeling, etc.). Furthermore, I would link these conversations to discussions about oppressed groups within our own society, such as women, African-Americans, and Native Americans. Students might then either write a reflection on this film or, after doing some outside research, create a presentation or paper on similarities between the disability rights movement and a specific civil rights movement of their choosing.

3. Girl, Interrupted (Memoir- Grade 9 and up )

Kaysen, S. (1993). Girl, interrupted. New York: Turtle Bay Books.

Susanna Kaysen recounts her experiences as a young woman in a psychiatric hospital in the 1960s in her best-selling 1993 memoir Girl, Interrupted. At eighteen years old Susanna Kaysen attempts suicide by overdosing on medication. Consequently, she meets a psychiatrist who suggests Susanna take some time for herself and arranges her stay at McLean, a residential psychiatric facility in Massachusetts. During her stay, Susanna is diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and ends up spending eighteen months in the hospital. Through a series of vignettes relating to her experiences and interactions with the other patients at McLean, we learn about Susanna and who she is. We also learn about the importance of friendship and character development as she writes about her experiences in the hospital.  Similarly, readers gain insight to how individuals cope with mental illness, while also developing a more comprehensive understanding of what it means to have a mental illness. This text would be most appropriate for students at the high school level.

This memoir can educate students about the history and treatment for individuals with mental illness through its intimate, first-person accounts. Introducing this text in a high school setting offers students the opportunity to work through complex topics as they engage in meaningful discussions relating to Kaysen’s writing. One of the most significant aspects of Girl, Interrupted is that it can be used to teach students that mental illness is not always visible. Taking this into consideration, this text can be used as a tool to motivate students to question their preconceived ideas involving mental illness and treatment. The author also invites readers to consider how the severity of an individual’s condition suggests whether  they need to be admitted to psychiatric care.

Girl, Interrupted is an appropriate text for students in grades nine and above because of the complexity and nature of the issues discussed. The text might have greater appeal to adolescent women and their interests because the writing is told from the perspective of a female. Also, many of the individuals that Kaysen encounters are female; thus, excluding the male audience. One way to utilize this text in the classroom would be to prompt students to engage in frequent small group and whole group discussions reflecting the central themes included in the memoir. The text would be read as a class so that students would be encouraged to ask questions and offer their own insights. The nature of Kaysen’s writing -- namely, her emphasis on a Susanna’s struggle to define sanity and normalcy -- can lead readers to appreciate Kaysen’s honesty and ability to express herself.  As a result, children can participate in a deeper level of thinking as they draw on their own and other classmates’ perceptions of the text. As an educator, integrating this text into the classroom certainly provides teachable moments concerning grave and timely issues that warrant further exploration.

The following blog depicts one individual’s thoughts about Girl, Interrupted.  I enjoyed this idea and can imagine integrating blogs into the classroom so that students are able to freely express their feelings and responses to the text in a way that is individual to them. http://alonetogetherfactfiction.blogspot.com/2013/02/girl-interrupted-susanna-kaysen.html

4. Still Alice (Novel - Grade 8 and up)

Genova, L. (2009). Still alice. New York, New York: Gallery Books.

As a well respected psychology professor at Harvard, Alice Howland lives a life with her husband that most would consider normal. The first symptoms of Alzheimer's begin to emerge when Alice suddenly can't find her phone, becomes disoriented in her own town, and various other daily occurrences. Being that Alice had assumed her issues were stemming from a possible brain tumor or menopause, she is shocked to her diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer's. Her life slowly starts to break open when she forgets the orientation of rooms in her home, resigns from Harvard, and eventually cannot recognize her own children.

This novel will appeal to those dealing with the Alzheimer’s disease, either in themselves or through loved ones, and may prove helpful in understanding how the brain slowly starts to deteriorate in the process. It could prepare those going through the heartbreak to know what to expect, and it could also prepare those with loved ones so that they may care for them to the best of their ability.

In the school setting, this text could be used with a wide range of grades from late middle school up to high school, due to its possible relatability with the students who have dealt with the disease. The class as a whole could initially discuss how it might feel for them to slowly start to lose their memory, and how it could affect themselves and the people around them. They could compare their feelings and thoughts to each other’s, and then while reading the book, they could compare their thoughts with those of Alice. Also, it would be influential to talk about the meaning of the title of the text, and why they think the author chose that title. The students could be asked whether or not they believe that a person with Alzheimer’s is still the same person on the inside.

5. Yellow Wallpaper (Short Story- Grade 9 and up)

Gilman, C. P. (1973). The yellow wallpaper (1 ed.). New York: Feminist Press.

           

            This story is comprised of a collection of journal entries depicting a woman’s descent into psychosis. Written from the perspective of the narrator, Jane, Gilman draws attention to issues concerning the history of mental illness, power, gender roles, feminism, and a woman’s search for an escape from her illness. Due to Jane’s state of mind, her husband confines her to the upstairs bedroom, in a house they rented for the summer. As she describes her confinement, she comes to believe that another woman was once left in the room before her, also against her will. The reader is lead to question whether Jane is referring to herself as she describes the damage of the room caused by the women before her. The meaning of the story’s title is apparent as Jane becomes fixated on the yellow wallpaper in the room. She dedicates many of her journal entries to describing the pattern and smell of the wallpaper that surrounds her. As days pass, she soon begins to see a figure in the design and eventually comes to believe that a woman is trapped behind the wallpaper. Jane thinks that the only way she can save the woman is to rip through the yellow wallpaper. Evidently, this story implores readers to develop their own interpretations of Jane’s diagnosis as they separate reality from delusion.

            The Yellow Wallpaper would be an appropriate text for students in grade nine and
above because of the complexity of the issues involved. This text leads readers to question the meaning of the yellow wallpaper and its influence on Jane’s state of mind. Further, the author presents readers with a story that highlights a range of topics that can be used for discussion and analysis in the classroom.

               One way to incorporate this text into the classroom would be to introduce a lesson that initially requests lower level thinking. In other words, we would read the story aloud together in the classroom and I would ask students to identify the structure and basic elements of the story. Then, I would have students work in groups as they engage in higher level thinking. In these groups students would participate in meaningful conversations as they analyze the text. I think that it is important for students to read texts from the perspective of the person that has been diagnosed as mentally ill. In this way, students can begin to understand that although a person might struggle with an illness, the illness does define who an individual is. This text might have a stronger appeal to the female audience. The reason for this results from the central themes addressed by the author.

The following lesson plan follows the Gradual Release of Responsibility model and attempts to answer the essential question: “Can illness manifest through the power of suggestion?”  I think that the strategies discussed in this lesson are applicable and appropriate in teaching this text to students at the secondary level. http://www.cpalms.org/Public/PreviewResource/Preview/26800

6. Of Mice and Men (Novel- Grade 9 and up)

Steinbeck, J. (1993). Of mice and men. New York, New York: Penguin Books.

            Of Mice and Men, one of Steinbeck's most well-known works, describes a story of two migrant workers during the time of the Great Depression. Lennie Small is a strong man with a large structure who has a mental illness. While he is a hard worker and has a good sense of humor, Lennie’s fascination with stroking soft things results in several instances where he unintentionally kills the animals that he was fond of. Comparatively, George Milton is a smart man and protective of his best friend. Although the two form an odd pair, the friendship between the men is valuable to the central themes conveyed throughout the story. After traveling to Soledad to search for work and hopefully acquire land of their own, Lennie accidentally kills the wife of the ranch owner’s son while trying to stroke her hair. Consequently, George is left to make a difficult decision involving the fate of his friend.

            This novel would be most appropriate for students in grades nine and above because of the graphic content and language used. The text can be utilized to educate students about the importance of friendship while it also speaks to issues involving race, acceptance, and the history of mental illness. Of Mice and Men is a great text to use in the classroom as a way to introduce students to complex ideas about friendship, disability, and the difference between right and wrong. The controversial issues discussed in the book make it an excellent text for facilitating student debates and allowing students to express their own opinions and insights about the story. From a teacher’s perspective, it is important to encourage students to develop their own interpretations of the book instead of merely telling students what the book means. In the classroom, I might have the class read the book together in sections. After each section of reading I would have students interact with the text by encouraging student discussion and integrating several follow up activities that allow students to gain a deeper connection and understanding of the text. One of the activities that I would integrate into the classroom closely resembles the following video related to writing:  https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/high-school-writing-lesson-idea

            

7. Looking After Louis (Picture Book - Grade 3 and up)

Ely, L. (2004). Looking after louis. Morton Grove, Illinois: Albert Whitman & Company.

“There’s a new boy at school called Louis. Louis sits next to me and I look after him. He’s not quite like the rest of us…”

This story is told by a young girl who sits next to Louis, a boy with autism, in school. Although Louis has little interaction with his peers, the girl and other classmates find ways to include him in their games and activities. Looking After Louis has a lighter and more playful tone than some other texts with a focus on disability, and it rightly depicts the humanity and innocence of many people with disabilities. Combined with vivid illustrations, Ely presents an uplifting look at mainstreaming that highlights not only the imagination and kindness of children but also the importance of having teachers willing to engage in class dialogues about disabilities.

This text is intended for students reading at the third grade level or above, but the lessons gleaned from this story are invaluable to individuals of all ages. As classrooms (and American society) become increasingly integrated with respect to mental illness, children share space with others of differing mental abilities now more than ever. Many classes are now co-taught by a general education teacher and special education provider to ensure that the needs of all students are being met. Despite this proximity, tension unfortunately still exists between student populations and bullying, particularly against students with special needs. Given how significantly literature can influence students’ values and attitudes, it is important that youth readings discuss disability so that children learn to recognize individuals with disabilities as people worthy of the respect and compassion they would give to anyone.

            Looking After Louis is a great text for a teacher readaloud because it can launch a class-wide discussion on inclusion, disability, and making exceptions in a safe environment. Students could make personal connections to the text by describing how their personalities are similar to Louis’, the narrator’s, and Sam’s. The class could also hold a discussion about fairness and reflect on education specialist Dr. Richard Lavoie’s well-known quote: “Fairness does not mean that everyone gets the same thing; fairness means that everyone gets what they need.” As a closing activity, students could write three takeaway points from the text that can help improve their own classroom communities. An excellent example readaloud of this text can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8vWtHgJ0c0.

 

8. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Novel - Grade 7 and up)

Haddon, M. (2004). The curious incident of the dog in the night-time. Vintage Books.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time tells of the adventures of Christopher John Francis Boone, a mathematically gifted and socially inept fifteen-year-old boy. Christopher lives with his father who, despite constantly trying to reach out to his son, struggles to understand his quirks. After finding his neighbor’s poodle, Wellington, stabbed with a garden fork, Christopher is wrongly arrested by the police and spends a night in jail. Despite the objection of his neighbors and father, Christopher is determined to seek justice and sets out to find the true killer. The novel, which manifests itself as a murder mystery written by Christopher, follows the boy’s investigation as he faces challenges that he never imagined and finds far more than what he was looking for.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time discusses numerous themes that both children with or without mental illnesses can relate to. Christopher often feels that he is not taken seriously because he wrongly interprets emotions and struggles to express his own feelings. Similarly, many children can attest to the fact that they are often misunderstood by adults and not taken seriously because they are unable to express their own feelings. Because of his unique quirks and mannerisms, Christopher often feels that he does not connect to the world in the way that others do and ultimately feels isolated. Children without disabilities can feel these same feelings in various other ways that might connect them to Christopher’s character.

This novel is relevant to today’s students simply because there is a growing community of students with mental illnesses that are being integrated in the general education schools. If general education students can learn about the lives of students who may have unique struggles, it’s possible that the students of today can better understand and grow an appreciation for the diversity of the world. This text would be appropriate for the middle school grades not only because the language used in the text is appropriate for this age range, but the content is handled in such a way that it lightly integrates humor and lightheartedness into such a heavy topic. Because of this delivery of content, this text would be a perfect introduction to the mental illness topic in the classroom.

9. House Rules (Novel - Grade 7 and up)

Picoult, J. (2010). House rules. New York, New York: Atria Books.

 

Jacob is a mastermind when it comes to forensics and with the help of his personal police scanner, he shows up at crime scenes frequently and tells the cops what they need to do to solve the mystery…and he’s usually right. He forms a decent relationship with them until one day when his school tutor is found dead, and the police come to question him. All of the traditional behaviors of Asperger’s, including not looking someone in the eye, stimulatory tics and twitches, and inappropriate remarks can look a lot like guilt to law enforcement personnel. Consequently, the police start throwing around theories that, since Jacob is usually correct about the crime scenes, maybe he has been setting them up himself. In a twist of events, Jacob suddenly finds himself accused of murder.

House Rules examines what it means to be different in our society, and how autism affects a family. This text is similar to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time in that it depicts a young boy with a mental illness (in this case, Asperger’s) being blamed for murder due to the differences in mannerisms that leave authorities suspicious. House Rules could be paired with this text to show the middle schoolers another type of mental illness to compare to. An activity that would be helpful throughout this learning experience would be the use of a Venn diagram for the students to compare and contrast the two related illnesses (Autism and Asperger’s). The teacher could then communicate with the school’s high needs section to create a day where students with disabilities are paired with a student from the class to spend a period a day together for few days to get to know one another. The students from the class could ask the student with disabilities questions about their daily lives (as long as they feel comfortable answering them) and use their “interview” as a resource for writing a reflection piece.

As does The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, this text also deals with numerous themes that could be relatable to non-high needs and high needs students. Jacob feels that his brain works in different ways compared to rest of the world and finds that he has a hard time relating. His quirky behavior and mannerisms are so different than most that it leads to wrongful suspicion against him during the murder investigation. Knowing that this is an intense situation that most students won’t be going through, it still has its connections to real life situations. Students, as children, may feel that the rest of the world doesn’t understand them simply because they are not yet as developed to fathom the way the world works than their elders. Adults don’t tend to listen or take seriously the children of society because of this, which may lead them to the same feeling of disconnection.

References:

Crandall, B. R. (2009). Adding a disability perspective when reading adolescent literature: Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. The ALAN Review, 71-78.

Garcia, A. (2013). Critical Foundations in Young Adult Literature: Challenging Genres (Vol. 4). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

Lynch-Brown, Carol, Carl M. Tomlinson, and Kathy G. Short. Essentials of Children's Literature. 7th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2011. Print.