Schuyler's next excellent adventure

The Rummel-Hudsons
Originally uploaded by Citizen Rob

(PRC press release)

PRC to Host Schuyler’s Monster Author Robert Rummel-Hudson in Booth #1031 at 2008 ASHA Convention

100 Free Copies of Schuyler’s Monster, A Father’s Journey with His Wordless Daughter Offered to ASHA Conference Attendees

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Wooster, OH, November 17, 2008: Prentke Romich Company (PRC), the worldwide leader in alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) language systems and technology, invites ASHA attendees to meet author Robert Rummel-Hudson in Booth #1031 on Friday, November 21, and to enter PRC’s drawing for a free copy of his 2008 book, Schuyler’s Monster, A Father’s Journey with His Wordless Daughter.

In the acclaimed memoir, Rummel-Hudson shares the story of his daughter Schuyler, now eight years old, who was born with a rare neurological brain disorder that prevents her from being able to speak. Using PRC’s Vantage™ Plus speech-output device, the high-spirited youngster is now able to communicate her thoughts and feelings at home and at school.

PRC will be giving away 100 copies of the best-selling book in a random drawing held Friday, November 21. ASHA attendees can enter the drawing by visiting PRC in Booth #1031 on Thursday, November 20, and completing an entry form. Rummel-Hudson will sign books on Friday between 10 am – noon and 3-5 pm. ASHA conference attendees can enter to receive a copy at the conference or are welcome to bring their own copy for the author to sign.

Visitors to the PRC booth also will see the newest of PRC’s AAC devices, Vantage™ Lite, a dedicated device designed for AAC beginners and those ready to advance toward fully independent augmented communication.

The second in PRC’s popular new line of “Lite” devices, Vantage Lite offers the same powerful language and communication features of PRC’s classic Vantage™ Plus but adds an array of hardware and software innovations, including:

• Compact case with built-in handle for greater portability;
  
• “High Brightness” display with LED backlight and wide viewing angle;
  
• Magnesium frame that prevents damage from bumps and drops;
  
• Bluetooth® connectivity for computer access and wireless access;
  
• Integrated Bluetooth® phone interface, a PRC exclusive.

Vantage Lite is one of six AAC devices available from PRC, all of which feature a proven language system called Unity® that enables children and adults with speech disorders to reach their full potential in spontaneous, independent, and interactive communication, regardless of their disability, literacy level, or motor skills.

About PRC
A 100% employee-owned company founded in 1966 and headquartered in Wooster, OH, PRC is a global leader in the development and manufacture of augmentative communication devices, computer access products, and other assistive technology for people with severe disabilities.

In addition to its powerful communication devices – ECO™-14, Vanguard™, Vantage™, SpringBoard™, and the new SpringBoard™ Lite and Vantage ™ Lite – PRC also provides a wide array of high-quality teaching and implementation tools, therapy materials, curriculum sequences, funding assistance, and training to speech-language pathologists, special educators, and the families of AAC communicators.

You can learn more about the book, Schuyler’s Monster, by visiting www.schuylersmonster.com. Learn more about the author by visiting his blog at www.schuylersmonsterblog.com.

For more information on PRC products and services, go to www.prentrom.com or call (800) 262-1984.

Bringing my fancy pants to Dayton

I occasionally clean up okay.
Originally uploaded by Citizen Rob

I visited the University of Dayton this past week, speaking to a couple of classes and then signing books and giving a presentation. I just wanted to take a moment and say that it was one of the best experiences to come out of this whole crazy book thing. Three days later, I'm still processing it.

There were a lot of memorable moments on my trip, but the thing that stays with me the most are the amazing students I met. The questions I got from students were of real depth, and the dialogues I had with them gave me a great deal to think about. I don't remember being that smart or that intellectually curious when I was in college, and I know I wasn't that well put-together. But then, my impressions of the University of Dayton were pretty much the same.

It's an impressive campus, with new facilities everywhere but still maintaining a sense of its history. UD is a Catholic university, run by the Marianists, who focus on issues of social justice and community, and it's clear that this focus permeates the thinking of the entire campus community. I was impressed by the level of commitment that the students maintained in building this spirit of community, both on campus and in the international service learning projects sponsored by the university.

So my thanks to Art and Tracey Jipson, as well as the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work, not just for having me on campus, but for making me feel welcome (bordering on superstar; my ego may never recover) and for giving me the chance to meet so many students and share Schuyler's story with them. I met some amazing people, and I can't wait to return to Dayton. How many times do you hear that?

Story in Plano Profile

Photo, from Plano Profile story
Originally uploaded by Citizen Rob

Plano Profile, "Author Robert Rummel-Hudson moves his family to Plano for his special-needs daughter"
by Britney Porter

"Schuyler is a princess whose story is unlike most, and unlike most fairy tales, the monster in her story is one she cannot see or touch or even run away from. It is Bilateral Perisylvian Polymicrogyria (BPP), a rare neurological disorder that affects her speech, and after five years of doctors visits and one alarming parent-teacher conference at a school in Austin, Robert Rummel-Hudson and his wife Julie moved to Plano to try to slay the beast.

"Read the entire story!"

Appearance at the University of Dayton

Schuyler's Monster
Originally uploaded by Citizen Rob

Guest Lecturer
University of Dayton
Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work
Thursday, November 6, 2008
6:00 - 9:00pm
Sears Recital Hall
300 College Park Avenue
Dayton, OH 45409

FIGHTING MONSTERS WITH RUBBER SWORDS — Robert Rummel-Hudson has a daughter who hears and understands everything but cannot speak. He has faced the challenges of finding a good education for his daughter and a supportive community, as well as the challenge of raising a special needs child. Rummel-Hudson will discuss those challenges and the value of a supportive community at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, in the Sears Recital Hall in the Jesse Philips Humanities Center. It is free and open to the public. Rummel-Hudson wrote Schuyler's Monster: A Father's Journey with His Wordless Daughter, about his daughter.

"Robert Rummel-Hudson is brave enough to reveal the damage the discovery of his child's condition did to his marriage and to his own sense of self. He manages to repair some of the damage through close involvement with Schuyler and vigorous campaigning on her behalf. His memoir is honest, often painful and deeply personal," said Charlotte Moore, author of George & Sam, a book about raising two autistic children. UD's Center for Social Concern, College of Arts and Sciences, criminal justice studies and School of Education and Allied Professions are sponsoring the event.

For more information, contact Director of UD Criminal Justice Studies program Art Jipson at 937-229-2153.

F-Bombing the Senate Chamber

(Photo by Ginna Foster)
Originally uploaded by Citizen Rob

So let me get the best part out of the way. I said "fuck" in the Tennessee State Senate Chamber, with an audience looking on. And I did it on purpose.

I'm not going to try to describe the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, where I was last week. Suffice it to say, it was like heaven for book nerds. I was one of over two hundred authors attending and presenting, and I have to confess, I did get a little drunk on the golden aura that seemed to project out from the name tag hanging from my neck, the simple white badge that only the authors got. Everyone perked up when I walked by, security guards at the legislative buildings let me walk through while other people got searched, and in general, this simple little white lanyard conferred upon its wearer the very fanciest fancy pants of all.

Simply stated, it was a fantastic weekend. Nashville is extremely cool. I realized Friday night while exploring the downtown area that Nashville really is exactly what Austin has been trying to be for a long time. It has a truly amazing music scene and an acute sense of history, and it also has a real and vibrant literary scene that other cities should envy. The book festival is just one manifestation of that.

I met some amazing writers. There was Laurel Snyder who signed a copy of Up and Down the Scratchy Mountains for Schuyler and whose creepy and perfect Inside the Slidy Diner made me wish Schuyler were still young enough for picture books.

I spent time talking to the fascinating Sallie Lowenstein, whose desire for creative control over her books led her to found Lion Stone Books, an independent publisher whose projects reflect her passion and her creativity. I picked up In the Company of Whispers, which defies description except to say that it is a beautiful book and like nothing else I've ever seen or read.

One of the greatest pleasures was meeting Sigourney Cheek, author of Patient Siggy: Hope and Healing in Cyberspace) and the other writer on my panel discussion. I had no idea what to expect, but she was serious about her work, unbelievably gracious to me, and extremely intelligent. Her perspective on writing and particularly on memoir related to personal struggle gave the presentation a real depth.

You know, right up until I said "fuck" in my reading.

The panel was run by an exceptional moderator, Lacey Galbraith from Swift Book Promotion in Nashville. I got to spend a lot of time with Lacey and Swift Book Promotion president Ginna Foster; they took pity on poor shy me and spent the better part of Saturday evening in my company. I can't tell you how much fun they were, or how much I appreciate their friendship.

The most unexpected and interesting encounter came on Saturday afternoon. With so many presentations going on at the same time, there was a tough choice to make every hour or so. I wanted to go hear Rick Bragg's presentation, but one of my favorite writers for public radio, Sandra Tsing Loh, was speaking at the same time, so I bailed on the gigantic Braggfest (where hundreds of people were lining up half an hour before) and found myself on the front row of Sandra's high energy performance. If you've never seen her and you get the chance, do it. Her new book, Mother on Fire: A True Motherf%#$@ Story About Parenting!, is based on a stage performance she does, and it is incredibly funny and manic. I was exhausted just watching her, although it should be noted that I get tired easily these days. Also, get off my lawn.

Anyway, as I sat there listening, she began talking about the cause that has been driving her of late, one about which she feels passionately and for which very few people are working. It turns out that Sandra Tsing Loh is an enthusiastic advocate for public schools (in her case, the schools of Los Angeles Unified). Considering how much advocacy I've engaged in for public schools (from a special needs perspective), I suddenly felt like my attendance at this presentation was, well, sort of fated.

After each presentation, the authors were escorted to a special area to sign our books, and that's where I got to actually meet Sandra Tsing Loh and tell her my story. This turned out to be easier and less fanboyish than I'd feared, because (insert a little choir singing "ahhhh!") I was wearing the Nametag of Authorial Wonderfulness and my pants were transformed into exquisite fanciness. She immediately treated me like a colleague, and got very excited when I told her my story. She had her publicist run over to the table to buy my book so she could have me sign it, and she asked for my email address so she could contact me later, possibly to talk again when she appears in Dallas in the near future.

"I'm so happy to see another public figure advocating for public schools," she said. "There aren't very many of us, you know."

Public figure. My ego began eating Tokyo at that point.

So yeah, I had a good time.

(Incidentally, about that F-bomb I dropped in the Senate Chamber. Consider that I also managed to get Disney's Wondertime magazine to print the word "asshole"; clearly I'm all about tainting hallowed institutions. But this wasn't just a random, Tourettesian verbal explosion. No, even better, it was part of my reading, from the chapter of Schuyler's Monster in which I share the letter I wrote to Schuyler on Christmas Day of 2004. So don't think I'm just a random vulgarian. Oh no, I was reading from a letter to my five-year-old daughter in which I use the word "fuck". I am Klassy with a K.)

All of this is my long-winded way of expressing my thanks to everyone involved in running the Southern Festival of Books for an amazing festival, particularly to Margie Maddux Newman, Serenity Gerbman and Lacey Cook. I'll have to get busy on my next book, because I want to come back. There are still so many obscenities left with which to foul your legislative halls.

A Very Calm Presence

A Man and his Monkeys
Originally uploaded by Citizen Rob

Just a quick word as I prepare to leave for Nashville tomorrow morning. I checked the Southern Festival of Books schedule and saw that my panel with Sigourney Cheek now has a title:

"A Very Calm Presence" — Two Stories of Family, Friends and Healing

A number of people have already indicated that they're coming. I hope you'll be there, too, if for no other reason than to see how I reconcile "A Very Calm Presence" with Schuyler, my tempestuous, monster-slaying tornado girl.

I had an epiphany about her, by the way. If you'd like to know what Schuyler sounds like when she actually speaks, you should play one of the Sims games. To the uninitiated (and even sometimes to Julie and me), Schuylerese sounds remarkably like Simlish. Unintelligible, but strangely beautiful.

My Fancy Pants Weekend

Southern Festival of Books
Originally uploaded by Citizen Rob

I'm getting ready for an event that honestly, I've been looking forward to for a long time. This weekend, I'll be at the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, participating in a panel on Saturday at noon with Sigourney Cheek, author of Patient Siggy: Hope and Healing in Cyberspace. I've not met Ms. Cheek, and the panel hasn't been assigned a topic, at least as far as I know. (Hopefully it'll dodge the Plucky Little Soldier, Patch Adams thing.) As a result, I'm in the interesting position of preparing to talk about my book without knowing exactly what I'm going to say. To tell the truth, I sort of like it that way. I do some of my best thinking on the fly.

Between now and Saturday, I'm re-reading a book that should prepare me a little for this panel -- mine. I actually haven't read it in a while, so please, no spoilers.

I'm looking forward to this for a lot of reasons beyond free trip to Nashville. (Although, you know, free trip to Nashville!) I've been doing a lot of events, but most of them have been in the capacity of Schuyler's father, who by the way also wrote a book. I'm going to Nashville as an author first and foremost, and I have to say, that's nice. It's easy to forget that I wrote a book. I know that sounds weird, but it's true. Even now, while I'm reading it again, I have these moments of "Holy shit, did I really write all this?" I'm still a little surprised myself.

There are going to be some excellent authors at the festival, including Rick Bragg and Ann Patchett. I'm looking forward to being there with people whose pants are much fancier than my own, and to be able to look at them as something akin to a colleague. A slobbering colleague, perhaps, but I'll take that.

If you're in the area, I hope you'll come by and say hello. There are going to be something like 200 authors represented, all on the apparently fancy grounds of the War Memorial Legislative Plaza. (I don't expect to ever again be able to say "I will be speaking in the Senate Chambers" again in my life, so I'm trying to say it a lot this week.) Best of all, it's free to the public. It looks like a lot of fun.

Hopefully I'll see you there. You know, in the Senate Chambers. Where I'll be speaking. Did I mention that already? I did, okay.

It's hard out here for a pimp

She digs it.
Originally uploaded by Citizen Rob

So I know I already mentioned my appearance tomorrow, but I just wanted to give one last little burst of pimpy goodness.

Tomorrow I'm signing at Borders in Allen, Texas, which is just up the road from where I live. It is in fact the closest bookstore to where I live, so it's sort of like my own quiet little neighborhood bookstore. Mom and Pop, if they worked for a huge corporation.

There are going to be other authors there that day, including a live radio broadcast by Kim Snider, author of How To Be the Family CFO, presumedly giving financial advise (I wonder if she'll mention suicide?). The hour before me will feature two writers who have written books about Princess Diana. (SPOILER: She dies) One of them, Lady Colin Campbell, has a rather interesting story of her own, but I won't ruin your Wikipedia fun by giving it all away.

Oh, and there's a bounce house. They freak me out, personally; all I can imagine is all the bacteria saying "Wheee!" as they jump from one kid to the next. But that's just me. I have Issues.

If you live in the area, I hope you'll come. This is one of those new, "experimental" Borders stores, with the cool music burning and print on demand stations, and the Watters Creek shopping area that it anchors is really very fancy and pleasant. We go there and walk around a lot, pretending we can afford to buy things. It's all so new that if you look at the satelite photo on Google Maps, all you'll see is a big open construction site. Trust me, there's stuff there now. No need for lawn chairs.

And of course, Schuyler will be in attendance. In a very funky dress, I might add. All the trendiest eight-year-old mute chickies will be wearing it this season, mark my words.

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Saturday, October 4, 2008
4:00 pm
Borders Books and Music at Watters Creek (map)
965 West Bethany Dr.
Allen, TX 75013
214.383.9676

Event at fancy new Borders, by golly!

SCHUYLER'S MONSTER
Originally uploaded by Citizen Rob

Signing and Discussion

October 4, 2008
4:00 pm
Borders Books and Music Watters Creek
965 Bethany
Allen, TX 75013
214-383-9676

Part of Educators Appreciation Weekend

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Borders Books and Music Watters Creek
Schedule for October 4th

11:00 am - Special Kids Story Time with activity provided by the City of Allen

12:00 pm - Live radio show and book signing with Kim Snider, author of How To Be the Family CFO

2:30-4:00 pm - Book signing Sarah Goodall, author of The Palace Diaries
and Lady Colin Campbell, author of Empress Bianca

3:00-6:00 pm - Bounce House (located outside)
Provided by Fire House Bounce

4:00 pm - Signing and Discussion with Robert Rummel-Hudson, author of Schuyler's Monster

7:30 pm - Musician Mark Shelton

Shameless request for help

Monster & Monster
Originally uploaded by Citizen Rob

Okay, so I just found out that I have, um, very little time to turn in any typos and edits to St. Martin's Press for the paperback. So if you have read my book and you saw anything that jumped out at you as wrong or weird, please drop me a line or leave a comment. You'll have my eternal gratitude, which is probably worth more than your stock portfolio at this point, right? Am I right?

I promise, I'll post something real soon, maybe later today. Lots to talk about regarding Schuyler, the love of my life, my little mermaid princess, my reason for living, as soon as I drive to her school and look for the new glasses that she lost. After a week and a half.

Ten days. Yeah.

I made the DaFoWo Show!

Okay, I'm going to geek out a little now, because this is actually my favorite web program, and I got some serious screen time on it. (I'm about three minutes in.) It's a weekly webcast sponsored by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, featuring Kristin Campbell and John Metz, who do the hosting, the writing and the very fun editing. It focuses on local Fort Worth/Dallas content, but I don't think there's a lot of inside humor. Go check out some of the older shows, too, at www.dafowo.com.

Anyway, thanks, Kristin!

Prodigal Son Revisited

(The Shorthorn: Michael Rettig)
Originally uploaded by Citizen Rob

You know, there's been a lot of different press for Schuyler's Monster, from public radio to television to articles in newspapers like The Dallas Morning News and magazines like People and Wondertime and Good Housekeeping, and yet there's nothing quite like seeing your face in your old college newspaper:

The UT Arlington Shorthorn - Robert Rummel-Hudson to speak at library

I'm not sure why it's always such a big deal to me, just like I'm not sure why I'm so nervous about my address at the university tomorrow night. I suppose it's the juxtaposition between whatever success I've achieved with this book and in my life as Schuyler's father with whatever abysmal expectations I probably set when I was a student.

I mean, I'm not sure how many people read about me in People and said, "Hey, wow, I thought he'd be in jail by now, or maybe working the window at Taco Bell. Good for him..."

Plugga-lugga-lugga

Don't forget the exclamation point
Originally uploaded by Citizen Rob

The Friends of the UT Arlington Library

cordially invite you to a presentation

"Fighting Monsters with Rubber Swords"

By Robert Rummel-Hudson

author of the new book Schuyler's Monster
(St. Martin's Press, 2008)

Friday, September 12, 2008
7:30 p.m.
6th Floor Parlor
UT Arlington Central Library

R.S.V.P. by September 11
at 817-272-7421 or bwood@uta.edu

Robert Rummel-Hudson is communications coordinator in the University of Texas at Arlington School of Architecture. Rummel-Hudson spent his early years growing up in the West Texas town of Odessa. He attended UTA, studying music and English. During this time, he worked as a professional freelance trombonist and music instructor. At the age of twenty-nine, he left it all behind and moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan, to marry Julie Rummel. A year later, they had a daughter, Schuyler Noelle, and moved to New Haven, Connecticut, to work for Yale University. It was at Yale that Schuyler was diagnosed with Bilateral Perisylvian Polymicrogyria, a neurological condition that left her unable to speak.

Robert, Julie and Schuyler now live in Plano, where Schuyler attends a special class for children who use Alternative and Augmentative Communication devices. Rummel-Hudson's first book, Schuyler's Monster: A Father's Journey with His Wordless Daughter, tells the story of raising a little girl with a disability and learning to become the father she needs. The book was published in 2008 by St. Martin's Press.

An autograph party will follow his presentation to the Friends.

Speechificationalismness

Okay, I put my keynote address to the Assistive Technology Cluster Conference online.

Please keep in mind that it was delivered to a gathering of special education teachers, speech pathologists, occupational and physical therapists, school administrators and some parents of kids using assistive technology. It was also written with the (probably safe) assumption that most of them had never read the book or this blog, so there's material that may obviously seem familiar to you.

Oh, and also, I had a time slot of over an hour, so if it seems long to you as a reader, imagine how I felt. That's a lot of jabbering for one old man.

Monster Slayers' Ball

Big Head Schuyler (and her Monster)
Originally uploaded by Citizen Rob

Do you want to know a moment when this whole fancy pants book thing felt a little extra real recently? When I made a joke and about five hundred people laughed.

I gave the keynote address at the 2008 Assistive Technology Cluster Conference in Richardson, Texas last week. This is something that has been in the works for a while, and I was excited about it, in a "they want me to speak for how long?" sort of way. Excited, with a "good thing a wore my brown pants" element of terror mixed in.

I don't want to sound like I am tooting my own horn here, but honestly, I think it went really well. They laughed at my jokes (Looking for an easy laugh when talking to special educators? Make fun of No Child Left Behind...), almost no one left while I was talking, no one booed or threw anything at me, and when it was over, some of the people who came up to talk to me had been crying. There's nothing like seeing someone's runny mascara to make you feel like you got it right as a writer. I was more concerned about my delivery than the actual text, but I got through it without stammering too much or dropping any random F-bombs, so all in all, I'm pleased with how it went. Perhaps I'll put it online.

(Edited to add: Done.)

As is usual with this book and the appearances we've made, however, the real star was Schuyler. I put together a PowerPoint presentation (actually, on Apple's very cool Keynote software; imagine Powerpoint's hotter, sluttier sister) that was heavy on the Schuyler images, and that was a wise, if not particularly unexpected, move on my part. When I mentioned Schuyler's ability to communicate her defiance without words, the image on the three big screens got what was probably the best reaction of the whole speech. As hard as I work to represent her in my writing and in my advocacy, Schuyler speaks for herself best of all.

When my speech was over, the organizer of the conference invited Schuyler to come up to the front. In this huge room full of adults, Schuyler looked tiny and fragile to me, but she strode to the front without hesitation in her little black dress and newly-reddened hair, took the microphone and said, with confidence and almost comprehensibly, "Hi everyone!"

And THAT, my friends, was the best part of my keynote address.

The conference itself was fantastic, and very eye-opening for us. They gave us a table in the too-small exhibitors' hall, where we signed books and met teachers and parents and, most importantly, other people who were using assistive technology like Schuyler's Big Box of Words. These were young people with disabilities much more severe than Schuyler's, to the point that they had to struggle many times just to put their words in order. And yet, I don't think I can adequately describe how powerfully affecting it was to watch them navigate on their devices and communicate in full sentences, with complexity and nuance and humor. It gave me, and Schuyler most of all, a lot to consider where her own device usage is concerned.

One of the most fascinating parts of the conference for us was seeing exactly how much work is being done by some very smart people to advance the technology that kids like Schuyler are using. Prentke Romich, makers of the Big Box of Words, were well-represented, as usual. I'm always amazed at the people who work for that company, not just by how smart and committed they are to their work, but also just by the humor and confidence they exude. Two of their reps were device users themselves, and they were kind enough to come talk to Schuyler from time to time on their devices. You can probably imagine how weepy I became, on more than one occasion.

There were other companies represented, and a lot of very innovative technology on display. I came away with a lot of ideas and thoughts, some of which I'm going to share with PRC soon. The whole thing made me think about this in whole new ways.

But most of all, the thing I took away from this conference was an appreciation for the work that all these people are doing. Teachers, therapists, administrators, parents, advocates, all of them. When I looked out at that audience, the thing I felt most of all was humbled (and how often does THAT happen?). I was standing in front of the people who have made it their life's work to help kids like Schuyler.

Early in my speech, I said:

It might be the most striking difference between our experience with the world of broken children and yours. As special educators and experts in assistive technology, you have sought out the monsters. You’ve armed yourselves with the knowledge and the tools to fight them, and you’ve gone into battle with your armor in place. For parents, the monsters have found us, in most cases sitting by the campfire in ignorant bliss, totally unprepared.

There’s a transition that special needs parents go through, and it’s one that I suspect never completes itself entirely. We go from seeing sad stories about kids with disabilities on television and saying "I can’t even begin to imagine how those parents deal with that" to becoming the parents who face it with our kids and for our kids. We learn quickly to conceal our fear, which is very great, and our self-doubts, which are many. We take hold of whatever we need in order to find that extra strength, whether it’s God or friends and family or a good stiff drink, and we draw our rubber swords. When we get to the battlefield, we find… you. You’re already there, our generals and our scouts, and you know the lay of the land. We’re not ready when we get there, not quite, but we will be soon enough. Once we get past our denial and our mourning for the child we always thought we’d have, we devote ourselves to the complicated, broken but equally wonderful child in its place. No one in the world is a quicker study than the special needs parent.

I've learned so much over the past few years, most of it about myself and my own capabilities, and all of it from Schuyler. Being there in front of those amazing people and being able to share my perspective with them was one of the singular honors of my life. And that's the truth.

"A Good Read"

(I swear to God, I thought I mentioned this already. I believe it was in the Father's Day post that got scrapped when I wrote about Tim Russert instead. My brain is apparently turning into pudding. Welcome to thirty-ten. Now get off my lawn.)

A few weeks ago, Naomi Shulman, research chief at Wondertime Magazine, wrote a very nice recommendation for Schuyler's Monster titled "A Good Read". I was of course happy to get a good review; it sure beats the alternative of a bad one or even worse, none at all.

I was especially touched to get yet another positive mention in Wondertime because they've been so supportive and great about my book. They featured a lengthy excerpt back in their March issue, which is nice online but looked absolutely breathtaking in its print layout. I was also interviewed by Naomi for a follow-up interview on the website. Wondertime has been a good friend to me and my family from the very beginning.

It's especially nice to have this coming from Naomi, who was an exceptionally pleasant and professional interviewer and who has been following Schuyler's story since before her diagnosis. I keep discovering over and over again how deeply Schuyler has touched so many people, and how the connections she's made through her story circle back around to us again and again.

So thank you, Naomi. This means the world to me, and that's the truth.

Writing about writing about writing

Originally uploaded by Citizen Rob

Sorry I've been feeling sort of quiet these days, but you know how it goes. I have been talking to other people behind your back, however.

Over the weekend, I was part of a Father's Day article about blogging dads for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, "Dads join the parenting blog ranks". Those of you who hate the term "mommy blogger" can now hate on "daddy blogger", too.

I also did an interview for writer and artist Debbie Ridpath Ohi, whose excellent work you may recognize from the Schuyler's Monster website. It focuses mostly on the writing process, so you can decide for yourself whether I'm truly a fancy pants author, or if I just got incredibly lucky. I won't tell you where the smart money is.

Reviewed in Brain, Child

A nice person sent me a scan of a review of Schuyler's Monster from the Summer 2008 issue of Brain, Child, which calls itself "the magazine for thinking mothers", although I supposed thinking fathers can read it too, as long as they don't fart or scratch or otherwise call attention to themselves.

Schuyler's Monster: A Father's Journey with His Wordless Daughter, by Robert Rummel-Hudson (St. Martin's Press, 2008). When the instructor of the Lamaze class that Rummel-Hudson attended with his pregnant wife said, "So the first thing the nurse will do is hand the new baby to you, mommies, so you can count their little fingers and toes..." Rummel-Hudson added, "And heads!" Weisenheimer moments like this pepper this making-of-a-father memoir and help leaven what could be a true tale of woe. Rummel-Hudson's daughter, Schuyler, was diagnosed at the age of three with polymicrogyria, a rare brain malformation that causes various developmental problems: the most frustrating, a lack of speech. Rummel-Hudson chronicles, with disarming frankness, the experience of parenting a child no one knows how to help. His own journey includes marital problems and fights with school administrators reluctant to work with Schuyler. His family's trials haven't extinguished Rummel-Hudson's smartass side, but they've drawn forth a tenderness that is touching and utterly familiar: "This love was daunting to me. It was the rest of my life, this love... I was Schuyler's prisoner now, and it was in that captivity that I had achieved my life's joy."

-- Elizabeth Roca
Brain, Child (Summer 2008)

Interview on Psychjourney

So if you've ever thought to yourself "Say, I like that Rob guy's voice so much, I could listen to him for HOURS," then today is your lucky day. I did an interview yesterday with Deborah Harper, the president of Psychjourney, and what was scheduled to be about a half hour interview turned into an hour and thirteen minutes. Wow!

The thing is, the interview went long because I think we got into some interesting areas, and Deborah is a fantastic interviewer who spends time with a question and follows up on points and gets very personally involved in the answers. We had the opportunity to talk earlier in the week instead of doing the actual interview (as I was sick and sounded like Puberty Frog at the time), and I think that earlier connection really made for a comfortable interview. I was much more at ease for this one than I've been before, and it definitely shows. I know an hour of me jabbering might not sound like your idea of a fun afternoon, but I think you'll like this one.

Psychjourney: Schuyler’s Monster: A Father’s Journey With His Wordless Daughter

When I went to the site this morning, I was surprised to see that in addition to the interview, Deborah had also posted the little video I made of two year-old Schuyler back in the summer of 2002, a full year before she was diagnosed with polymicrogyria. I watched it and found myself getting surprisingly weepy. It took me back to a time when we didn't know any monsters, only this funky, weird little kid who had a wheezy little donkey laugh and liked to dump water out of the bathtub.

My favorite moment is when she violently smacks me in the head and then immediately embraces me with a sort of poignant tenderness. That's my life with Schuyler in a nutshell.

Dallas Child

The fam
Originally uploaded by Citizen Rob

A local free monthly called Dallas Child, asked me a few months ago to contribute an article to their regular "daily diary" feature. I wrote up something for them and submitted it, and then promptly forgot about it like a doofus until Julie (who did NOT forget and had been watching for it this whole time) brought home some copies of the June '08 edition from her store.

You know how it is when you write something and then don't see it for a while, then you come back to it and don't actually remember writing much of it? That's how I felt when I read this again. Not in a bad sense, but rather in a "I can be sort of amusing now and again" sort of way.

That sounds like an excellent epitaph, now that I mention it. Someone jot that down.

Dallas Child is available all over the place in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, but it's a pretty safe bet that you can find it at your local bookstore. For the other 99% of you who don't live here, you can read it online:

Daddy Diaries: Robert Rummel-Hudson