This summer we are highlighting #OwnVoices books. #OwnVoices, a hashtag created by Corinne Duyvis, highlights books that are written by an author that shares a marginalized identity with the protagonist because the best people to represent a marginalized group are those who experience that marginalization. We love being able to share these great books by amazing authors with you!
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Real by Carol Cujec and Peyton Goddard
Real tells the story of thirteen year-old Charity, born with severe autism that impacts her ability to speak and control her body. "The Thinkers," as Charity refers to doctors, teachers, and other people in power, have said she will never be able to function in society. But Charity's mother Gail uses her training as a teacher to do everything she can to educate her daughter and despite her unpredictable body, her father brings her surfing with him and teaches her how to shoot a basketball. Her parents love and support her, but even in her extended family Charity faces doubt as to her abilities and as a result her whole family is sometimes disinvited to family gatherings which is painful for all of them.
When Gail discovers that the alternative school they have enrolled Charity in is not doing anything to educate her and the other children enrolled there and is fact abusing the students instead of helping them, she is horrified and pulls Charity out. She advocates for mainstreaming her in a local junior high where, for the first time, Charity and her family find a team of teachers and other students who believe in Charity and her abilities. It is here that she is taught Facilitated Communication, a form of assisted typing, which allows her to effectively communicate for the first time in her life.
There is a beautiful exchange between Charity and the other students in her EPIC class (Every Person Is Capable) when she first learns Facilitated Communication. Charity types to the class, "Thank you for accepting me even before I had words." Julian, another text-to-speech student replies, "Your soul is now freed to tell its truths." Jaz, a chatty verbal student comments, "Compared to you typers, most of us talkers sound like mindless parrots." Julian replies, "For us, each word is a gift."
And this is just the beginning of the story. Later on Charity is accused of cheating on assignments since she can only type with adult assistance so she and her family have to fight to keep her in the school that has taught her so much, all the while advocating for the closure of the abusive alternative school where she suffered alongside other students for many years.
The beauty of Charity's character is that she is, as the title says, real. She is not a person with infinite patience. She has a wide range of feelings from anger to joy. At one point she sinks into a deep depression and feels that life is too difficult to continue, but with the support of her family, friends, and teachers, she is able to move forward. She is not a "model minority," she is just herself. And that is the best thing of all.
Peyton Goddard
The book Real is co-authored by Peyton Goddard, who, just like Charity, was labeled as incapable of learning until she was able to attain a dependable mode of communication. Goddard was 22 when she and her family were introduced to Facilitated Communication. She went on to become valedictorian of her graduating class at Cuyamaca Community College despite not having the supports necessary to graduate from high school and is a strong advocate for inclusion and protection of those most vulnerable to abuse.
She has written many things about her experience and why every person should have access to an education that allows them to learn. In her essay, "In Pursuit of an Education," Goddard writes,
I investigated Cuyamaca Community College where I met with Dr. Powell, director of DSPS, and her staff. Joy was that Dr. Powell believed from our very first meeting that I could learn. My previously unimaginable opportunity for an education now seemed possible and this validated my goals of learning all things. Many people with educations had believed I was a reason to institutionalize, but Dr. Powell said that she saw my human right to learn.
There is some controversy surrounding the method by which Goddard and the fictional Charity use to communicate. Some argue that Facilitated Communication, or F.C., cannot be independently evaluated and so cannot be recommended as a learning support for students like Goddard. Her response to this is documented in her essay, "It's Your Move," addressed to Directors of Education in the United States and published in Facilitated Communication Digest, September 2001:
Ordinarily, it is pretty pleasurable to learn radically good-looking news about a person, such as that they ARE capable of learning and contributing to society. In the past twenty years countless facilitated communicators all over the world have moved to finally access their “voice” through support typing, to leave institutions and live in their communities, to acquire an education including college, to have contributing jobs, and to move to typing independent of touch.
... The choice to implement F.C. is challenging. Bullishly arm your daring with my arguments and create exponential opportunities for those who await. Know that I will be watching. It’s your move.
Peyton Goddard's experience is just one voice from one particular part of the Autism Spectrum. There are many stories to be heard and told, both bio-and autobiographical to fictional but rooted in truth. Many books have been written by and about Temple Grandin, perhaps one of the most famous autistic thinkers of our time. The Autistic Brain shares her personal experiences along with scientific research into autism and the strength and unique advantages of autistic people.
Twelve-year-old Nova loves outer space and is eagerly awaiting the launch of the space shuttle Challenger, an event she and her big sister, Bridget, planned to watch together. While foster families and teachers tend to dismiss Nova as she is severely autistic and nonverbal, Bridget understands how intelligent and special Nova is, and all that she can't express. However, the sisters become seperated and as the liftoff draws closer, Nova's new foster family and teachers begin to see her potential, and for the first time, she is making friends without Bridget. But every day, she's counting down to the launch, and to the moment when she'll see Bridget again.
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