i am intelligent: From Heartbreak to Healing: A Mother and Daughter’s Journey through Autism
Synopsis: At age 22, Peyton Goddard was a hopeless case to everyone but her parents. Labeled autistic and severely mentally retarded, Peyton lacked the ability to communicate or control her body. When her mother Dianne brought her to Whittier, California in 1997, to try a new communication strategy for people with autism, she did not expect much. She did not expect her daughter to type the words “i am intlgent.” She did not expect to learn that her daughter possessed a gifted mind and poetic lyricism. She did not expect that Peyton would go on to attend college or that she would graduate valedictorian and become an advocate for other unheard voices.
i am intelligent: From Heartbreak to Healing, A Mother and Daughter’s Journey through Autism tells the remarkable true story of Peyton and her family and includes startling poetic insights from Peyton herself, a brilliant mind held captive for two decades. Peyton’s book reads like a riveting novel and is one of the few books to offer first-person insights by someone labeled as “low-functioning” autistic. Through Peyton’s eyes, the reader will witness the devastation caused by countless stares of pity and low expectations set by educators and society for children labeled as special needs.
i am intelligent provides evidence of the woefully inadequate treatment of special-needs kids and the urgent need to treat all children as respected members of our human family.
Available at Barnes & Noble.
And also on Amazon.