2005 Discussion Group Questions

For Riding the Bus with My Sister

Adapted from questions on Rachel Simon’s web site: www.rachelsimon.com

1. The memoir opens with Beth’s annual Plan of Care review, and Beth’s request of Rachel to ride the bus with her for an entire year. What motivates Beth’s request? Are the tensions between Beth and Rachel similar to tensions you have felt with family members?

2. Why does Beth love riding the buses? At the beginning of the year Rachel doesn’t understand Beth’s devotion to bus riding. Have you known people who are devoted to something you do not understand? Did your thoughts about those other people change after reading the book?

3. Compare and contrast the attitudes and actions of each of Beth’s parents. Are there ways in which either is more or less adept than the other? If you are, or you know parents of children with special needs, how do your/their experiences compare with the experiences of Beth’s parents?

4. How are Beth’s siblings, Rachel, Laura, and Max affected by being a sibling of a person with special needs? What role did their parents have in molding their attitudes toward Beth? Are you, or have you known, a sibling of a person with disabilities and how do your/their emotions and concerns compare to the siblings of Beth?

5. How do you feel about Beth not working? Is she capable of doing more? If you were an employer, would you hire her?

6. As you think about Beth’s bus drivers, what do you see them contributing to Beth’s daily rides? How have your perceptions of bus drivers been affected by this book?

7. What is your reaction to the way Beth’s family handled her burgeoning sexuality, and Beth’s reminder to Rachel: “Its TEn years since I cant Have a baBy?” Does learning about Beth and Jesse’s relationship affect the way you view adults with disabilities? How?

8. Self-determination, or the capacity to manage one's own affairs, plays a significant role in this book. Why is self-determination important for human beings?

9. In general, how do the people of Centre County react to and support people with disabilities? How might we improve?

10. What do you think about People First Language? (Example: “a person with special needs” rather than “a special needs person”) Do you find yourself questioning your own way of speaking, in the past or present?

11. Compare the annual Plan of Care review at the end of the book to the one at the beginning of the book. What kind of progress or change has been made in the way Beth lives her life?