October 26, 2012

i am intelligent

I recently read a book "i am intelligent" written by Peyton Goddard and Dianne Goddard. "This is the story of a child who, although unable to express herself, lives fully aware of her limiting circumstances."


Peyton was having multiple disorders and also non-verbal. Her mother Dianne did everything, what she could do to help her daughter. She went to several doctors to treat her physical symptoms and behaviors. She made every effort to make her daughter learn new skills, to attend school, not to institutionalize her and also to make new friends.

As Peyton was unable to express, Dianne had to guess everything about her daughter. She herself didn't know, what are her daughter's thoughts. She wasn't aware, what Peyton suffered in her absence and she was abused by her own relatives who were supposed to babysit her.

As Dianne was eager to do anything to help Peyton, she heard about Facilitated Communication (FC) when Peyton was 22 years old. Through FC, Peyton started to type with the support of facilitator. On that day, whole life was changed for her and her family. She was able to communicate now. She told everything to her mother, what are her feelings, likes, dislikes, desires, expectations etc. and also she told about what she suffered in her earlier life.

With the new technology of FC, she was able to study in the college and also passed the exams. She was able to make new friends, to meet people, to teach other children and was involved in various activities. She is now writer, poet, advocate for inclusion and also she has her own website http://peytongoddard.com/. Her wisdom is now sought by eductaors, parents, doctors and community groups. 

I like her saying "mute in speaking is not necessarily sign of mute in ideas".

1 comment:

  1. Excited to share "i am intelligent" is a 2013 San Diego Book Award Finalist!!!! - By Peyton Goddard on her Facebook profile :)

    ReplyDelete