About this item
Schuyler’s Monster is an honest, funny, and heart-wrenching story of a family, and particularly a little girl, who won't give up when faced with a monster that steals her voice but can’t crush her spirit.When Schuyler was 18 months old, a question about her lack of speech by her pediatrician set in motion a journey that continues today. When she was diagnosed with Bilateral perisylvian polymicrogyria (an extremely rare neurological disorder caused by a malformation of the brain.), her parents were given a name for the monster that had been stalking them from doctor visit to doctor visit and throughout the search for the correct answer to Schuyler's mystery. Once they knew why she couldn’t speak, they needed to determine how to help her learn.
About the Author
Robert Rummel-Hudson spent his early years in Texas. He grew up in the West Texas oil town of Odessa, and attended college at the University of Texas at Arlington, studying music and English. During that 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 rare neurological condition that left her unable to speak. For the next few years, Robert used his online journal and blog to chronicle Schuyler's fight for a normal life, and also his transformation to become, against all his flaws and self-doubts, a good father and fierce advocate for a unique little girl.Robert Rummel-Hudson now lives with Julie and Schuyler in the north Dallas suburb of Plano, Texas, where Schuyler attends a special class for children who use Alternative and Augmentative Communication devices. She also attends regular fourth grade classes for a good part of her day, and is working towards transitioning to a mainstream education in the coming years.
