16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
uplifting true story of triumph over adverse life situations, March 4, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Sound of a Miracle: A Child's Triumph Over Autism (Paperback)
I found this book to be one which inspired me and helped me realize there's always a reason to keep trying. As the parent of an autistic child, I really needed to know there were others who had it worse than me, and that they were having success living positive lives. The story of the author's life is quite amazing. Annabelle's struggles were real, and as such, we have much to learn from her and her daughter's experiences, if only to know that there is hope.
This book also gave me much needed information on how some autistic children perceive situations around them, as well as their feelings about what is happening to them. I am better able to understand my daughter for knowing what Annabelle's daughter was able to tell us, due to her success with AIT.
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
MIRACLES RESOUND!, August 31, 2000
This review is from: Sound of a Miracle: A Child's Triumph Over Autism (Paperback)
Georgiana (Georgie) was born May 24, 1965. She made all developmental milestones within normal limits, as did her older sister, Dotsy. Speech was the major milestone that Georgiana did not make during her early years.
Georgie's mother had many overwhelming issues -- Georgie's unusual aversion for any type of sound, music included and Dotsy's being diagnosed with leukemia in 1967 when she was 4.
Annabelle naturally has Georgie tested and sent to early intervention programs. The only place where Georgie appeared to thrive was at Bellevue Hospital because, as Georgie herself said many years later, "it was quiet there." Dotsy's health deteriorates and she dies at the age of 8 in 1971. Georgie, then 6, is sent to a residential facility identified only as "Childville."
"Childville" sounds like a genuine Chamber of Horrors. Georgie complains about the noise and staff dismiss her complaints. She is overmedicated and complains that the medicines make her feel funny. She becomes hostile and acts out because she cannot stand any type of sound. A rather incompetent social worker identified as "Judith" seems determined to block and undermine any and all progress on Georgie's part. When the girl shows an unusual balancing ability and begs for a skateboard, Judith refuses, telling Georgie's mother that Georgie is "overcompensating a fear." Fortunately, Georgie gets her skateboard and is quite proficient on it.
Georgie is fortunate enough to have summers free of that institutional wasteland. Luckily for all, Annabelle marries Peter and that union produces a natural brother and later a sister for Georgie. Peter has some grown daughters from a previous marriage and it is in this loving, extended family that Georgie blossoms.
Annabelle decides that Childville is not the answer and withdraws Georgie when the girl was 11. Peter had accepted a job in Switzerland, and naturally Georgie wanted to join her family. Judith tries to keep Annabelle and Peter from withdrawing Georgie, invoking the name of and cliches from Freud. Fortunately, Annabelle withdraws Georgie, discontinues the medications and for the next several years, Georgie flourishes in Switzerland. She learns to ski, is mainstreamed and explains her aversion to sound. Luckily, she has been treated by several very humane doctors specially trained in AIT (Auditory Integration Therapy) and this treatment is continued during her years abroad. One can't help but cheer when Georgie dances in the rain, explaining that the rain "doesn't sound like a machine gun anymore."
An interesting expression that Annabelle coined is "hig," meaning "hostile inadvertent gesture." One can't help wondering why it isn't "hostile INTENTIONAL gesture" because Georgie would sometimes deliberately inflict physical pain on people who had crossed her. Annabelle devised the acronym "hig" to subtly call Georgie on her behavior in these instances.
After several years abroad, the family returns to the U.S. Georgie's records "mysteriously disappear" because the cruise ship she was on met with a disaster and several cartons had to be discarded.
Free of previous baggage, Georgie attends a public school in Connecticut. She graduates as class valedictorian in 1984 and, at last count, is happily married.
Georgie appeared on "Sally Jesse Raphael" in 1992 and drew a map of Africa, all countries included from memory. Bright and now quite verbal, Georgie is a strong advocate of AIT. She said it literally saved her life.
She is now fluent in 6 languages including Arabic; is a gifted artist and very spiritual. Georgie is also an author. She has chronicled her life story in "Overcoming Autism," in which she promises readers that upon reading her book they will have a very clear understanding of what it means to have autism. The book is currently available on her web site, but it is worth reading. It is a book you will cherish.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I felt connected with the author!, December 5, 2001
This review is from: Sound of a Miracle: A Child's Triumph Over Autism (Paperback)
When you are the parent of a child with Autism, it's difficult to make people understand what is going on with that child. Friends and family, although well meaning, just can't possibly understand the big picture! Reading her book was like having my own private support group. As I read of her self-doubt as a parent and later realizing that her parenting had nothing to do with Georgie's issues, I cheered for her. I thought "Yes, I'm not the only one who has felt this way"!
The sections focusing on Georgie's successful treatment with AIT also gave me some hope for the future with my own child, as her symptoms are eerily similar to Georgie's.
A "must read" for parents and caregivers!
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