Draft Guide Development Post

• Chapters based on fundamental citizenship, outdoors skills, ethics, athletics,
• Once mastered, or completed the series of tests in a chapter, then you receive a badge for the accomplishment. This is an intriguing incentive program
• Revised through the years but retains a vintage aesthetic with colorful drawings and cartoon graphics
• Why this form? There’s something “sacred” or “culty” about a boy scout handbook. It’s viewed as something that should always be on the scout’s person. It’s the scout’s “best friend” and should be referred to at all times. I like this.

• Instead of the boy scout path from Tenderfoot to Citizenship, I will replace each rank with my own rank.
• The metaphor- Becoming an experienced, versed, a responsible parent is somewhat like learning how to become a high-ranked boy scout
• I’m envisioning similar images would evoke the same color palette and vintage vibe.

The Form: Flowers for Algernon and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

• Although both of these stories are fictional portrayals of the conditions, the important thing is that the authors do a lot of imagining and putting their selves into the shoes in trying to make them come alive as a human being rather than getting them “right,” whatever that might mean.
• I want to do the same, put myself in the shoes of individuals that stim in a tasteful way so it can act as a guide for others.
• There is no definition or typical person with autism, and they're as large and diverse a group of people as any other group in society.
• Both of these stories are from first-person perspective of the individual with the disability. Flowers of Algernon is structured like progress reports
• They both touch on themes on ethical themes of how to treat the mentally disabled
• My guide could be from the parent’s point of view, watching their child transition into adulthood
• It could be structured as diary entries of a parent observing breakthroughs or significant moment of their understanding, revelations when it comes to caring for someone with autism

Other Ideas:

• From left to right, it’s the internal dialogue of someone with ADHD, then it’s the actual outcome
• This could be applied to someone with autism who stims
• “I stim because it makes me feel good” → “the more I stim in public, the more others avoid me and I’m not taken seriously”
• The images are light-hearted and playful and frame something serious in a much more digestible way

Metaphor Ideas:

• I think there’s potential of using the phrenology head chart as a metaphor in one of these guides