I Am Intelligent

Book excerpt: This riveting memoir of extreme loss and unimaginable gain recounts the story of a child who, although unable to expressherself, lives fully aware of her limiting circumstances. Robbed of speech and bodily control, and despite her loving parents’ best efforts to help her, Peyton Goddard suffered neglect and ongoing abuse by many who dismissed her as autistic and severely mentally retarded. No one could have imagined that she possessed a brilliant mind in her uncooperative body until her first opportunity to communicate electronically at age 22 when she typed “i am intlgent,” a breakthrough reminiscent of The Miracle Worker. Today Peyton is following through on her vow to be an advocate on behalf of other devalued people. Her inspirational life helps readers transcend stereotypes and join her in the radical notion that, as she says, “All people are vastly valuable. Treasure all because great is each.”