Heather at the Neurologist's.

GENETICS of blindness; PEOPLE with disabilities; DEVELOPMENTAL disabilities; EPILEPSY; APHASIA; APHASIC persons; NEUROLOGISTS; INTERPERSONAL relations; INTUITION; VISION disorders

This is my daughter's story, although the voice is mine. Heather is an adult whose life is complicated by congenital blindness, cognitive impairment, epilepsy, and expressive aphasia. Typically, communication between Heather and others is a two-way challenge: At each step, everyone involved must perceive, interpret, and confirm understanding. An appointment with Heather's neurologist is used as the setting to illustrate how these connections are made: how Heather communicates her feelings, needs, and intentions and how she makes sense of her world. Anecdotes from Heather's past are included to suggest that following the “lead” of persons with developmental disabilities can make a significant difference in the quality of relationships. Roethke (1953) is right: Along with our intuition, experience, and compassion, we learn by going where we have to go—into their lives, into their unique vocabularies, into their gestures and silences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Equity & Excellence in Education is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)