Maverick mind : a mother's story of solving the mystery of her unreachable, unteachable, silent son / Cheri L. Florance with Marin Gazzaniga.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Florance, Cheri L.

Contributor:

Gazzaniga, Marin.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Learning disabled children--Education--United States.

Learning disabled children.

Learning disabled children--Education.

United States.

Mothers and sons--United States.

Mothers and sons.

Physical Description:

xii, 302 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : G.P. Putnam's Sons, [2004]

Summary:

When Cheri Florance's third child was born, she knew from the start that he was not like her two other children. Whitney didn't startle at any noises, didn't make any sounds and seemed completely impassive. Tests showed there was nothing physically wrong with him; doctors and experts told Cheri to wait and see. But as time went on, Whitney showed no change, remaining apparently deaf, mute, and outwardly unresponsive. As a speech and hearing therapist, Cheri had more resources than most parents to cope with her son's problems. Yet even she hit brick walls and didn't know where to turn. Experts said that her son was autistic, would never learn, and that she should give up hope.

Cheri, however, saw a spark of learning ability in her son-his excellence at building models and solving problems indicated a highly developed visual sense. Going against the experts, she was determined to help him to speak, interact, and learn. And so she marshalled her scientific and medical training, enlisted the aid of her two older children, and embarked on a campaign to bring Whitney out of his shell and into the world. Maverick Mind is the story of their journey-the triumphs and setbacks and the ultimate victory-as Whitney progressed from being essentially warehoused to taking remedial classes and entering mainstream school, where he excels today as a high school senior preparing for college.

Contents:

1 The Hardest Thing You'll Ever Do 1

2 A Stranger in a Strange Land 18

3 An Intelligent Child Trapped Inside 30

4 The Wild Child 42

5 The Depths of Despair 53

6 Juggling (or: Where There's a Will, There's a Way) 73

7 Fire Drills 85

8 Me and Mrs. Jones 99

9 Reengineering Whitney's Brain 113

10 The Triangle 135

11 Learning from Maverick Minds 164

12 Talking to God 185

13 Band-Aids 205

14 From Special Ed to Maverick 221

15 Never-Never Land 248

16 Football and Girls 267

17 Leaving Home 278

18 The Florance Maverick Syndrome 293.

Notes:

Includes index.

ISBN:

0399151001

OCLC:

52587712