 Buy the Hardback Buy the Softcover |
|
Maverick Mind MAVERICK MIND: A Mother's Story of Solving the Mystery of Her Unreachable, Unteachable, Silent Son |
John Whitney was diagnosed with severe autism, deafness and mental retardation and would normally have been sentenced to a lifelong existence of sterile institutions and sedatives. Through years of unbridled determination, however, Cheri would redesign her life and career so that she could be with Whitney and supervise his development. From pre-school to high school, she would work closely with him to discover and target the sections of his brain that were developed. For Whitney, it was his visual intelligence that was functioning. But it was over-performing so much that it was shutting out his ability to create language. Relying on her nearly 30 years of experience as a scientist, Cheri would devise new experimental treatments to tap into this section of his brain and encouraging these highly functioning areas to help his nonfunctioning auditory system develop. She would discover, on her own, how to teach her unresponsive and unfeeling son language and how to learn.
MAVERICK MIND is a story of a miraculous breakthrough that will set the stage for a new chapter in the treatment of brain disorders around the world. Through devotion, love and willpower, on par with that of Helen Keller, Cheri helped Whitney break though the chains of a sensory disintegrated brain disorder that would have--if left up to contemporary practice--relegated him to a life of little or no language and void of all emotional connection to his family and the world.
Dr. Florance believed in her son and alone, she faced the dilemma of how to help him achieve as a member of society. Her motherly instinct told her that somewhere in that seemingly hollow body there was a brilliant mind waiting to be discovered. She fought the authorities, the doctors, the teachers and school psychologist to ensure that her son was as mainstreamed as possible during his critical years of development. Because of her efforts, her son is now an excellent thinker--academically and athletically developed well beyond his peers.
MAVERICK MIND not only illuminates the mysteries of the mind but it proves that through determination and perseverance people can overcome insurmountable odds.
As a scientist and therapist, Cheri Florance had the skills and training to help others overcome speech and hearing difficulties. But she was not completely prepared to encounter her greatest challenge-her own son Whitney. MAVERICK MIND: A Mother's Story of Solving the Mystery of Her Unreachable, Unteachable, Silent Son (G.P. Putnam's Sons; Publication Date: January 5, 2004, ISBN: 0-399-15100-1), by Cheri L. Florance, Ph.D. with Marin Gazzaniga, is the story of a child born with seemingly insurmountable learning disabilities and the mother who refused to give up on him. Foreign rights have been sold in the UK (Simon & Schuster), Germany (Kruger), Italy (Sperling & Kupfer).
From birth, Florance's third child Whitney appeared to be deaf and mute and was indifferent to those around him. Although autism was the most likely diagnosis, Florance could not accept the limited life that such a condition predicted for him. She sensed in him something that no one else saw- a boy skilled at building models and solving problems that reflected a highly visual intelligence; a boy desperate to connect yet trapped by his inability to communicate. She needed to tap into Whitney's over-performing visual mechanical intelligence to help his auditory system learn language codes. Battling school systems and professional opinions along the way, Florance marshaled her scientific and medical training and enlisted the aid of her other children, William and Vanessa to re-wire Whitney's brain. Whitney would eventually learn to communicate in more conventional ways and excel in school, sports, and life; Dr. Florance had identified a new syndrome and developed a successful treatment for it along the way.
An inspirational story spotlighting how one mother's compassion and determination overcame adversity, MAVERICK MIND will resonate with any parent who has struggled to help a child while illuminating the mysteries of the brain.
Cheri L. Florance, Ph.D., a medical speech-language pathologist, is CEO of The Brain Engineering Laboratories. She treats an international clientele with the Florance Maverick Syndrome in her private practice and is an adjunct professor at Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health. She is the recipient of the Career-Development Award from the National Institutes of Health and is one of the youngest people to be named Fellow by the American Speech, Language and Hearing Association. She splits her time between Columbus, OH and New York City.
Marin Gazzaniga, a New York-based writer who has written for a variety of national magazines, is the coeditor of the critically acclaimed The Breast: An Anthology.
Chronology of Key Events
Detailed in A MAVERICK MIND
By Cheri L. Florance, Ph.D.,
With Marin Gazzaniga
Whitney's first two years
- Although doctors say he was perfectly normal at birth, Dr. Cheri Florance soon begins to sense that something is wrong with her third child, Whitney. He does not interact with his environment, laugh or cry, or exhibit any apparent wants or needs.
- Florance includes Whitney in as much of her daily activity as possible. In addition to family time with his brother William and sister Vanessa, she brings him to the office so he can watch the art, drama, and occupational and speech therapists engage the other children.
- Whitney shows the first sign of perseveration-a condition characterized by the persistent repetition of a verbal or motor response when Florance watches him mechanically unravel a roll of toilet paper in the bathroom. Florance fears this symptom that is a characteristic of severe disorders.
- Florance notices Whitney is attracted to mechanical, cause-and-effect type toys, like the Jack-in-the-box. She learns to see that, even though he is severely handicapped, there is a tremendous amount of curiosity in him. Each positive discovery however, is often followed by a significant setback. One night, while staying at a hotel, Florance is awakened in the middle of the night by the police. Whitney has pulled apart the entertainment center in the room, unlocked the main door and found his way to the kitchen. Florance is encouraged, however, by the complex series of cognitive skills--executive planning, sequencing, logic reasoning and hypothesis testing-it took Whitney to accomplish this.
- By age three, Whitney's fits have become disturbing. He becomes red faced; yet there are no tears or sounds of crying. Often he throws himself to the ground, thrashing, biting, kicking or banging his head.
- Concerned about his ability to socialize, Florance enters Whitney into a pre-school class for two-year-olds.
- Florance, in order to devote as much time as possible to the mystery of Whitney's brain problems begins to alter her private practice towards highly visual patients with communication problems.
- Florance's pediatrician informs her that he believes Whitney is autistic and requires professional help. Despite her pediatrician's recommendations, Florance believes isolating Whitney will only worsen his condition and decides to give him as much of a mainstream education as possible.
- Forced to enroll Whitney in a specialized school, Florance moves her entire family to Dublin, Ohio in order for Whitney to attend a promising pre-school there for children with severe developmental delays.
- Despite relocating to a new school equipped to manage children with severe disorders, Whitney's school administration does not believe he has improved. Florance, working with his classroom teacher, begins to implement a pre-reading program to teach Whitney the concept of a word much like Annie Sullivan taught Helen Keller through finger spelling. She attempts to create an association for Whitney between visual cues and ideas. She places labels on household items and plays word games with her other children in front of Whitney. One day Whitney hands Florance a flashcard with a fast food chain logo on it. She shouts for joy realizes Whitney has communicated to her--he has asked for something!
- Florance enters Whitney in a new school and is disappointed when the staff labels him "multihandicapped." However, one day, after playing guitar in his class, Florance is astounded to hear Whitney call out to her, "Dr. Florence!" This confirms that he recognizes his mother and connects with her. Whitney begins developing much more of a relationship with Florance and he would now want to hold her hand.
- Florance knows Whitney would need to have verbal language-even though he could say her name, his speech was mostly gibberish. Florance's goal is to get him to know there is a code of thinking that depends on words. Her efforts work and Whitney starts to learn about twenty-five new words a week. He begins to read, not like a normal six-year-old, but with recognizing groups of words. Despite these successes, Florance dreads meeting with school officials about Whitney's plans for first-grade. Most of the skills that are considered necessary for first-grade were missing.
- At this time however, Florance begins to see more clearly than ever that Whitney's fascination with visual tasks, his model building, his high visual scores and his fascination with staring at things for hours on end were all linked. She begins to suspect she is discovering a new syndrome that no one had ever heard of--one that, in Whitney's case, presents autistic-like symptoms but symptoms that can be corrected with the right kind of therapy.
- Whitney is accepted into a handicapped first-grade class. Although it's not a fully mainstreamed class, it's not totally segregated. Although Florance accepts the "autistic" label for Whitney so he can receive the attention he needs, she does not accept the prognosis. Florance fights to get Whitney fully mainstreamed into first grade although he can't hear normally and can barely speak.
- During the summer between first and second grades Whitney improves dramatically. Florance continues to work with Whitney both at home and at school building a safety net of support around him so that he can continue to improve. The following school year goes well for him.
- At the start of Whitney's third-grade year, he temporarily relapses into his old behaviors. He speaks less and has little interaction with his classmates. Near the sixth week, however, Whitney settles into his new routine, and the rest of the school years goes smoothly, with significant support from his family and Florance's staff.
- Florance is confident that teaching Whitney language and fixing his communication problem is eliminating the psychiatric symptoms of autism. She and her other children would again be amazed by Whitney's progress when he says, "I just wish we could all sit down and talk together." Up until that time, he had never made a point of sharing his feelings so directly.
- Fifth Grade is another tough transition for Whitney when he has to relocate to a different school without all of the supports created for him over the years. A new game plan is created and with time and a lot of work, Whitney continues to learn and improve.
- Although Florance has high hopes for her son's sixth-grade year, she is concerned. Whitney's stability depends greatly on routine, and this will be the first year Whitney will have to change classrooms after each period. Whitney's older brother William will be attending the school as well, but Florance is worried about how the other children will react to Whitney.
- Whitney's development is even more apparent when he writes a letter to his congressman about overcoming his disability and asking that he be removed from his special-ed homeroom. Whitney also pleads his case to the teachers and administrators at school. Although he is unsuccessful, he does accomplish something remarkable--he maneuvers himself into honors math and opens the door for the possibility of leaving special-ed if his writing improves.
- Whitney struggles again as he begins yet another new school. This time, however, he refuses Florance's offers of assistance at school. He is determined to improve on his own and insists that her services are no longer needed. It was a sign of success that Whitney no longer needed her to help, but it was also a feeling of great loss for her. Florance is also concerned that there is still significant risk that Whitney will not be successful in 9th grade where his future will begin to cement.
- In these two years, Whitney works hard at school to get his reading and writing up to high school levels. Florance's efforts with Whitney turn to focusing on helping Whitney connect to his feelings.
- As in every other year, Whitney has a tough transition to his new environment. He pulls through. By the 9th grade after many years of occupational and physical therapy, Whitney letters in wrestling and football at a tough college prep catholic high school. He makes good grades without accommodations or special services. By 10th grade he begins taking college classes and by 11th grade he is singing and dancing in the musical, "Carousel."
- Whitney's transition to college was a smooth one. He is now a successful Chemical Engineering student at Manhattan College in New York City. He enjoys a varied and exciting social life with family and friends and he makes a significant contribution as a citizen of his college community.
For more information, click here